


Break My Bones

by KarinMaaka07



Category: Katekyou Hitman Reborn!
Genre: Illustrated, It starts off slow, Maybe - Freeform, Mia!Tsuna, Mia-Tsuna, Mind Games, Multi, SI-Tsuna, This story has no plot, Tsuna not even trying to get dick but ends up getting it, a few background character deaths but nothing too brutal, and stays slow for awhile, idk - Freeform, please put up with my shit, slight angst, there is never a plot with my stories, unsure thoughts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-06-05
Updated: 2016-08-31
Packaged: 2018-07-12 12:24:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 25,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7103263
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KarinMaaka07/pseuds/KarinMaaka07
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"I'm not saying I cut the breaks on his car, I'm just saying that maybe he should have went to the car mechanics to get it checked out."<br/>"And I'm saying that you have car oil on your shirt."<br/>"How can you suspect me? Look at this face. I'm adorable!"<br/>"For fucks sake Tsuna." </p><p> </p><p>TW; mentions suicide, depression, and blood. Nothing too gore like.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Reborn

**Author's Note:**

> Heey, finally went around to making a profile here. Anyways, please accept my shitty story, which is also posted on FF.  
> Fair warning: not beta proofed.  
> Also, there are more chapters, idk how to use this site yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys.  
> Sorry for not updating, I've been really busy lately.  
> Okay, so I'm going to be editing the chaps I have, I hope you guys don't mind. The only one I managed to fix up would be this chap right here.  
> Go ahead and re-read it please.  
> The other's will be fixed up and I will be adding images to it as well. Hope that doesn't bother some of you.

 

_“I can’t believe I wasted my time with you!” A woman screeched at the younger female across from her. Hands balled up in fists, face completely red with rage._

 

_(You’ll always be no good.) Voices whispered, images of shadowed people looming over the brunet. Some sneering, other’s laughing. Repeating the words over and over._

 

_“I should have aborted you when I had the chance!” Hand raised, nostrils flared, and eyes unfocused. She was the picture of blind rage._

 

_(Why do I have a son that’s so dame?) Slightly facing away from the child, the woman frowned, placing a delicate hand on her cheek. Her eyes glinted with something close to disappointment._

 

_“You’re nothing but a piece of shit that doesn’t deserve to share my D.N.A!” The hand moved forward, too quickly for the girl to move away from._

 

_(I’m sorry. I don’t like you that way.) Was a reply from another girl, hair that looked like a mixture of orange and gold._

 

_Being shoved away and off their feet, they felt the pain flare across their body. Screams of agony snapped the mother back to reality as horror dawned on her. The woman, who was filled with rage, realized what she had just done._

 

_(Being rejected by the one he loved was the last straw. He had held on for so long, hoping that something good would come out of it. Hands swinging in the air, desperately searching for something to grab. The only thing his hand managed to grasp, was the handle of a knife.)_

 

_She could only stare with wide eyes, hands shaking –the very hands that pushed the other- as the life left the other’s eyes._

 

_(They had teared him down, piece by piece, until he could no longer handle it.)_

 

_She had just murdered her only daughter out of rage._

 

_(They murdered him with words; not even giving him a chance.)_

 

_The fleeting thought of the dead woman was that she just wanted to live._

 

_(Knife deep in his stomach, blood poured out. The boy just wanted it to end.)_

 

_In sync, the two dived into the darkness._

 

* * *

 

Eyes opened up only to shut close once more, wincing at the bright room. Keeping their eyes closed, they tried to remember what happened prior. _‘Ah, that’s right. Mother Dearest pushed me into the road.’_ She thought, biting back the snarl. Slowly, she opened her eyes once more, prepared for the onslaught of the lights that were sure to give her a headache.

 

Fighting back the urge to close them, the woman looked around. White sheets, white tiles, white curtains. Yeeeep. Looked like a hospital to the woman. A frown made its way onto her face. This, this wasn’t right. There was no way she should even be alive. Her mother pushed her out into the road, thus, letting the girl get hit by an oncoming car. Not that she didn’t mind being alive. It just meant that she had to deal with her mother.

 

Fucking. Great.

 

The woman’s nose scrunched up in confusion, as it still doesn’t make any sense _-_ There was a struggle to breathe, the woman could only grip onto the sheets, teeth grinding together as images shot through her mind. One after the other. Each viewed in another's person point of view –as if she was looking through their eyes.

 

Being pushed down, mocked, and ridiculed, and more. Just what the fuck was all this? The images _–(_ **_no, these are memories_ ** _) said a voice, in the back of her head._ And just who the hell was that? Cause that was most certainly not _her_ voice- kept coming to point out to her that this wasn’t her life. That she was supposed to be dead, just as much as the boy in these memories were.

 

It couldn’t have been more than just two minutes for all the memories to settle in. Drenched in sweat, the woman took in a deep breath -the very one she had struggled to get- and tried to calm herself. She was dead. She had died on the road. This wasn't her body.

 

She was dead, but so was the boy. They both died and yet, she had wanted to live. Was her desire to see the next day that strong? For her to bounce back from death and give a marvelous ‘ _fuck you_ ’ to it and her mother? If it was, then she had done a horrible job doing it, considering that this wasn't even her own damn body.

 

Lips twitched up, as she tried to find the silver-lining to this event; she was alive and could damage control on her -his?- life. A bitter laugh rang out in the room, it cracked and sounded hoarse, the obvious signs of disuse. She wondered, was this what the beginnings of madness felt like? To feel so alive, yet so confused and disoriented? Once the woman felt some sense of sanity back in her system, she pushed herself up from the bed.

 

The woman would have to be blind if she didn’t notice the changes right away.

 

Chest lighter compared to before and light skin pointed it out more. Arms thin from the lack of muscles –something that she was going to change for her own benefit, and small hands. Face blank as the girl brought the hand closer, she turned it, palm facing up. They were soft; _‘That’s right, the boy didn’t do much physical activity. What a shame.’_ Was her thought.

 

Swinging her legs over the bed, she watched her toes wiggle. The idea of standing up and moving around was much to be desired. But reason and logic rammed in as well. How long was the boy presumed dead? How long was this… _body_ lying still on the bed? While she could wiggle, twist, and swing her new ligaments around, it didn’t promise anything.

 

For all she knew, she could stand up and fall flat on her face in a second. Weighing the possibilities, the woman shrugged her shoulders. If she fell, then she could just crawl to the bathroom. Problem solved. Hand gripping onto the bed rail, she pushed herself up. Instantly, she knew that the body was there for a while. Just trying to stand made them ache and feel like jelly, the sensation of pins and needles never felt painful as it did now.

 

Still, the woman was far too stubborn to stop. Determination set in as she forced the body to comply with her wishes. Using the wall as support, she pushed forward. Sweat began to form again, making her shiver as she realized that her hospital clothes clung onto the body. It was an uncomfortable feeling, really.

 

“ _Fucking damn it_.” Once more, she heard the hoarse voice come out of her mouth. Mentally cringing, she began to wonder what it would be like, living like a boy.

 

It would be something she would have to get used to, and fast, if the nagging voice in the back of her head had anything to say about it. Not that the woman cared much about it. As long as she was breathing, then she was fine. At least she wouldn’t be dealing with Mother Nature anymore, which was a plus. Struggling to keep herself upright and opening the bathroom door proved to be harder task than what she had wanted.

 

She threw her hands onto the sink, all the while breathing heavily, a smile formed. “Ha… that took a lot out of me.” Lifting her head, she stared at the reflection. Half lidded eyes stared back as they traced over their new face. Brown hair that gravity had no control over, and dark circles under his gold eyes accompanied it.  

 

 

_Nice._

 

Turning their head to the side, she looked over his face in different angles. The woman turned boy made a hum of approval. “Huh… I don’t look that bad.” This body would be hard to get used to, but she will do what she can to make use of it. A sudden thought popped up, as she stared at herself once more. Was she going to have to use male pronouns now?

 

The woman made a face at that. She wasn’t so sure if she could; she wasn’t one to accept things like a flip switch.

 

Brows furrowed, the brunet watched her reflection copy her movements. Mind whirling around as she continued to stare at her own face. There was no way she could forget this face -anime-esque looking or not. The information was there, deep inside her mind, and yet she could not grasp it. Giving a small huff, the woman turned away from the mirror, intended to find some more information on this boy.

 

Memories could only go so far, it seemed, as it didn’t really give her what she wanted. The layout of a cozy home, the multiple ways to run away from a possible bully, and the typical remembrance of something the boy liked was what filtered in her head. Not once did a name pop up; not once did she even see the boy either struggle writing down his name, nor introduce himself to another person.

 

That was just sad.

 

Walking around on legs that could hardly handle her weight made everything difficult. The woman eyed the floor, tempted to just crawl around, but her pride kicked it away. Head held as high as possible, she continued her search for anything. There should have been a clipboard someone where in this room; there was _always_ a clipboard in a hospital room.

 

She wheezed, the lack of energy this body had was really beginning to get on her nerves. Mentally berating the lack of muscles and such, the woman turned boy barely caught sight of what she was looking for. Grumbling under her breath, she snatched the clipboard with more force than necessary. She wasn’t interested in how the boy died, she just wanted a name to go with the face she now has.

 

Eyes going over the paper, the woman wasn’t quite sure of what she should be feeling. Relief for now knowing the name, or rip the sheet up for giving her a life that would damned one way or another. “Fuck, I’m Tsuna.” She hissed, baring her teeth at the paper.


	2. Miracles are a Lie

 

Sitting up in her bed, Tsuna stared out the window with a blank expression. It had been a few weeks since she ‘woke up’. Needless to say, she scared the shit out of the nurses that came to take her new body away to the morgue. Apparently, the boy had been claimed dead for almost two weeks. Why were they barely picking up this body? She would never know, nor did she care.

 

Their screaming, claiming her to being a ghost or zombie had been funny; and it was warranted, considering for how long the boy had been dead. Though she scowled at them for making so much noise. Her ears hadn’t stopped ringing until late in the evening. 

 

Eyes trailing after a bird, she sunk into her pillow, lips pressed into a thin line. There was still some resentment from their previous mother. How much that woman caused them to be so, so…? Well, Tsuna couldn’t think of a word to describe themselves, honestly. And it wasn’t only their past mother either that made her feel conflicted. 

 

Sawada Nana, was by far, the most annoying person she could have ever met. While her past mother was a bitch and went crazy with rage. At least she had some common sense to pick up on certain subjects and her surroundings. Nana didn’t. She welcomed everything openly without question. Had even had the nerve to look down on her own son instead of helping him. 

 

It was with reason why Tsuna felt a small portion of resentment to her as well. Yes, she was caring. Yes, she was the best housewife anyone could ask for. But as a mother?  **_Hell no_ ** . She was just as bad as everyone else that the boy had dealt with. Instead of open arms to sooth her son, she degraded him. Calling him useless and dame. Constantly picked apart at him with words of comparison to other children. 

 

He was going to start middle school with hopes of the girl of his life in his arms. He was a child when he picked up that knife. Sawada Tsunayoshi was only twelve when he ended his life. A  _ god-damn child _ compared to the twenty-seven year old woman. 

 

There was no way she was going to act like nothing happened. There was no way she could be like the original Tsuna; mainly because she was no longer the Tsuna everyone supposedly ‘knew’.

 

It was with  _ that reason _ , which the reborn Tsuna decided to act as if she had amnesia. The day her new mother came around, the woman had tears in her eyes. She sobbed, thanking god for bringing her ‘Tsu-Kun’ back, over and over. Nana had been so happy, seeing him alive. And then she had to ruin it for her, by asking the simple question. 

 

_ “Do I know you?”  _

 

There was a bit of dark satisfaction to see Nana stare at her, eyes wide in horror. The mother had promptly let go of her, as if she had burned her. The woman turned boy had kept up a confused expression, easily keeping the roll of a confused teenager whom had been hugged by a complete stranger. It wasn’t farther from the truth. Memories or not, Nana will always be a stranger to the ‘new’ Tsuna. 

 

Suffice to say, she broke down crying once more, just for a different reason. She had watched the doctor and nurses take her away; trying to calm her down. Tsuna just watched them leave with a blank face, as if silently asking them to hurry the woman out. Since that day, Nana had come over to visit her. Probably in hopes to get him to remember. Yet, she had a feeling that the mother felt guilty for not helping Tsuna  _ –‘she better, that was her fucking son!’ _ \- Along with the fact that she probably saw this as an opportunity to ‘make amends’. 

 

_ Pshh _ . As if that’ll work. 

 

So, now, here she was. Waiting for Nana to come around to continue and chat her ear off like always. Tsuna had pushed herself off her bed once more, no longer taking the idea of ‘resting’. She wanted to move around, go out, and enjoy this new world. Hands pressed against the windows, the woman looked around, mentally cursing her new height. Sure, she had been short before, but never  _ this _ short. Pouting, Tsuna continued to watch the world outside. 

 

She didn’t know how long she was standing there for. But it was long enough for her legs to bother her, and leave her forehead resting against the window. “Tsu-Kun?” Blinking slowly, the brunet looked over her shoulder and stared at her visitor. Nana gave a smile, eyes trailing over her form with motherly worry. “Shouldn’t you be resting? Moving around will get you tired.” 

 

“I didn’t want to be stuck in bed anymore; it’s boring and irritating.” Was her immediate response. She had nothing to do; no books, no hand-held games, absolutely nothing! How was she expecting her to stay in bed? “Besides, I want to move around.” 

 

“Yes, well… you haven’t been moving around r-recently…” Nana trailed off. She still wasn’t over the fact that Tsuna was dead for a while. She was probably the one to find the boy and call the ambulance. “It’s best that you don’t push yourself so much.” Nana all but glided over to Tsuna, gently placing her hands on her shoulders to lead her back to bed.

 

If Nana noticed how she flinched away from her touch, she didn’t bring it up. 

 

Mentally older or not, Tsuna all but groaned aloud at having to be put back in bed. Nana just giggled at her reaction. Flopping onto her bed, the brunette pulled her blankets up. She didn’t like it that Nana would try to tuck her in. Huffing, the woman leaned back once more. 

 

Silence. 

 

Why wasn’t Nana saying anything? Turning her attention to the woman, she raised a brow. Nana was staring at her, but not actually seeing. Eyes distant, as if she was spacing out, how strange. Slowly, she looked down at Nana’s hands, just to find them gripping onto her skirt. “You know, Tsu-Kun.” Eyes darted back up to meet Nana’s, she waited. She still looked distant, perhaps reliving a memory? “I called your papa. I tried to tell him what happened… but I couldn’t tell him.” 

 

“What do you mean I could understand it being hard to tell someone that I nearly died-” Tsuna ignored the sharp intake of breath, as she continued. “-but surely you could have told him somehow?” 

 

“I-it wasn’t that I  _ couldn’t _ tell him, per say.” Nana shifted in her seat, finally blinking and tearing her gaze away from her ‘son’. “I was just, he kept talking about everything going on with him. And when I finally had a chance to finally say something, he said his break was over and hung up.” 

 

Tsuna gaped at her ‘mother’ as she took in her words. “…Wow. He sounds like an asshole.” Was all she could say. Because, seriously? What kind of jerk did that? A husband no less?  _ ‘The hell is with this family? A ditz-mother and now a shitty father? No wonder why Tsuna felt alone.’  _ When she thought about it, her new parents personalities and habits, will most likely help her.

 

“ _ Tsunayoshi _ !” Huh. So she could raise her voice, who knew. Nana looked upset, and –dare she say it?- angry. “Don’t say such things about your father!”

 

“What?! I’m just saying the obvious!” Tsuna shouted back, narrowing her eyes at the woman. For some reason, seeing Nana angry at her when she was just commenting on it, made her angry in return. “I don’t know about you, but the way how you describe your so called ‘conversation’ with him, it sounds as if he didn’t want to hear anything and wanted nothing more than to get off the phone with you!” 

 

 

 

Ah, Nana looked about ready to cry; guilt faintly gnawed at her. Turning away from Nana, Tsuna scowled at the curtains. Why did it bother her so much? This ‘papa’ of Tsuna’s must be a shitty one, especially if there were hardly any memories of him. What Tsuna does remember is a blonde idiot grinning down at the boy and calling out ‘Tuna’ of all things. If  _ that _ was Tsuna’s father, then she would take back what she said. 

 

He was an idiotic, selfish bastard, is what he is. 

 

The rest of the visit, Nana tried to tell Tsuna about her ‘father’. The mother told her how he was traveling the world as an oil worker, how he sent postcards with silly smiles and the like. But all the woman heard was how her ‘father’ was absent. Who in the world would believe that man actually had a job like that? 

 

Besides Nana, of course. 

 

Tsuna just wanted her to leave before she blew a fuse. By some miracle, she understood that she had wanted to be left alone. She gave her a smile and tried to kiss her forehead.  _ Tried  _ being the keyword. The brunette had sunk into her pillow and pulled her blankets up to block the affection. If Nana thought she was just going to accept her like that, with how much she told her she ‘loved’ her, than she had another thing coming. 

 

The only sound she heard from Nana was a defeated sigh, shuffling, and a door closing. Had she been the original Tsuna, she would have apologized for making her shout, apologized for making her worry. Apologize for a lot of things just to make her smile and happy. 

 

She wasn’t that Tsuna. She was the one that had anger, and it wasn’t aimed at her past self either. It was targeted at the people who made Tsuna’s life hell. It was targeted at the people who drove the poor boy into killing himself. 

 

_ ‘Those people better sleep with one eye open. Cause the moment I get out of here, there’s hell to pay.’ _ If there was one thing Tsuna now had, it was confidence, knowledge, and determination.  _ ‘First things first, I have to get better and actually walk without tripping over myself.’ _ She growled in frustration, narrowing her eyes at nothing.  _ ‘I just want those bastards to get a taste of their own medicine. See how they like it.’ _

 

From across town, a few teenagers shuddered. For some reason, they felt as if they had signed their life away. 


	3. Settle In

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> if you guys were wondering, this self-insert just wants to get revenge for the boy; that is their only motive.

The brunet had returned 'home' a month later, legs still feeling like jelly when he walked for too long. Remembering how he fell down near the stairs caused his frustration to raise. Tsuna wanted nothing more than to get into shape. Nana didn't want him to push himself, especially after coming home from the hospital. So he complied with her, nothing to extreme.

Didn't stop him from trying to do standard exercise in his room; ten push-ups, ten sit-ups, ten squats, hell, he even did jumping-jacks in his room. Despite showing improvement, it wasn't enough; he needed to go out and at least jog. Being crammed into his room for who knows how long was beginning to make him go stir-crazy.

Tsuna knew he would be leaving the house soon, and not in the way he had intended. Scowling down at the papers before him, Tsuna wondered: just what was Nana thinking at the time? Everyone in Namimori knew that he had died and, by some unwanted miracle, he came back and was walking among them once more. Angrily writing down answers, he let his mind swirl around.

By all means, he wasn't deaf nor oblivious to the gossip around the town. Namimori was small, despite having so many buildings and areas to visit. Everyone knew each other, either by name or actually being friends; like it or not, everyone made it their business to know what was going on. Tsuna and Nana weren't that different.

He would listen in on the so called quiet conversations that people had while walking by his 'home'. Always the same damn thing too: _"Did you hear? Seems that Dame-Son came back to life!" "Eh? So he's that dame that he couldn't kill himself properly?"_ Tsuna had made it a point to stare at those people with half-lid eyes from his window. He didn't hide himself from them either, the brunet made it clear that he was listening to their conversation and wasn't afraid to stare them down. Apparently, his gaze made anyone shudder, catching wisps about how 'it was as if he was peering into their soul and judging them'.

Good. If it made them wary of his stare, they should know better than to do it again.

Nana, on the other hand, always went to the market and came back with strained smiles, chattering about how nice everyone was to her. How she was so 'lucky' to have him back. But the woman always heard the gossip as well; about how her 'Tsu-Kun' wasn't so meek anymore. That he was creepier than anything. And, no matter how bad she felt for thinking it, Nana could have sworn that there was a darker glint in her son's eyes.

Tapping the end of the pencil on the paper, Tsuna did his best to keep calm. Shoving away those thoughts, he did his best to focus on the task at hand. Nana dearest believed that it would be best for him to go back to school. It had started up while he was still in the hospital, and in order to know what the boy knew, they sent him stacks of paper. In other words: homework.

Now, mentally being a twenty-seven year old, whom had gone to college because they had actually enjoyed learning, found all this insulting. It was like they had decided to poke fun at him, questioning his mental ability. There was even a math question that asked what two plus two equaled! If that wasn't degrading, than he didn't know what was.

Going back to writing down the correct answers –there was no damn way he was going to fail- the boy wondered what it would be like to go to school. There was no pleasure of having to relive middle-school or to meet his soon to be school mates. Shockingly enough, there was also no hatred for it either. If his memory served him correct, then Reborn would be showing up soon, right? If so, when? He couldn't exactly remember the details of his arrival, Tsuna just knew he was supposed to be thirteen when he showed up.

How much damage could the boy do before the hitman arrived? Will he be able to raise hell and drag those unfortunate souls down? Will he be found out before he started? Or will he be caught in the act of staining his hands red? If Tsuna was being honest, he didn't care.

For all he knew, this world he was reborn in, could be a timeline that he never met Reborn. That he was never Vongola Decimo and would be a civilian through and through. The corner of his lips pulled up, a smirk forming as he continued to write. _'Then again, why would I want that boring life? If I put my mind to it, it could be so much more interesting.'_ A dark chuckle left his lips, liking the idea a bit more than he probably should.

First things first, getting this body to top shape. There was no way he could start if he can't keep up a decent running pace. Not to mention actually being able to hold his own against others. Tsuna knew that if anyone were to punch him square in the face right now, then he would be down for the count. That wouldn't do. Finishing up the papers, the brunet got off the floor and out his room.

He needed to know how to fight, trying to practice alone would be stupid. There would be openings in any stance he could think of, he could even end up hurting himself by landing wrong on his feet, or possible injuring his own hand for trying to pull a punch. Now, if he could get Nana to agree with his reasoning for fighting lessons, then everything would be fine.

Stopping at the entrance of the kitchen, Tsuna watched Nana moved around, humming lightly to herself. Calling out to her was just plain weird, as the boy never actually called her 'mother' or anything remotely close to said subject. Instead, the brunet raised his hand and knocked lightly on the wall. He watched her jump slightly, twirling around with a knife in hand.

Oh, he caught her while she was cooking. Whoops. Eyes lingering on the knife for a moment longer, he looked up to stare at Nana. She was fidgeting in her spot, the grip on the blade tighten **(she's afraid that it'll happen again)** , and smile twitched. "Tsu-Kun! Are you hungry? Lunch is almost done."

"Er… no, not really. Thank you though." Tsuna blinked and tilted his head, feigning innocence as he looked around the kitchen. The boy shifted his weight on his feet, letting the words tumbled out. "I was wondering if I could sign up for fighting lessons."

Nana gave a start at that. "Fighting lessons? Why would you want that, Tsu-Kun? You've never like the idea of doing anything physical." Mainly because you're so dame. Were the words she didn't say aloud, not that it matter, Tsuna knew what she meant. If his gaze on her frame indicated anything. Yes, there was something different about her son. And she wasn't sure what to think of it.

Tsuna gave a sluggish shrug, keeping his bored gaze on her. _'So even she feels uncomfortable when I stare at her. Guess she's used to Tsuna looking at anything but the person.'_ He remembered, from those memories, his gaze had never stayed on a person. It would shift away, as if he was afraid to keep eye contact. "I have to push myself if I want to get better, can't keep falling flat on my face every minute. Learning something as self-defense is good for a person too."

She was losing this fight and they both knew it. The way how Tsuna stood tall, almost as if he was demanding –no, he wasn't demanding, he was coaxing her into giving in and giving him what he wanted willingly. Nana didn't know where he learned this from, perhaps he inherited it from his father? Iemitsu did have that gift as well; it was effective, far too effective.

Worrying on her lip, Nana weighed the pros and cons. Her little Tsu-Kun had never wanted to fight, didn't like the idea of lifting a finger to hurt someone intentionally. But she remembered the days he came back with tears in his eyes, limping to his room, arms covered in bruises. If he learned to fight, would he fight back? _'No. No, Tsu-Kun wouldn't do that. He did say it was for self-defense.'_ Taking a deep breath, she clutched on the knife. _'Never again. I'm never letting him feel vulnerable ever again.'_

"Alright, Tsu-Kun. I'll sign you up right away! Now, how about some lunch?" Nana smiled, twirling around to get the food; easily waving away the boy's mutters of 'not being hungry'. Tsuna only smiled gently at the woman before him, mentally preparing himself for the lessons to come. He could feel his body hum with excitement to learn something new.

**(This is going to be hard.)** Scratching the back of his head as the voice popped up, Tsuna walked over to the dinner table, as he sat down with grace.

_'I'm aware of this. No need to tell me so.'_ Was it strange for him to talk back to his intuition? There was nothing wrong with talking with oneself, but he wasn't sure if it applied to that. _'Hm… now that I actually think about it, what was it said about Hyper Intuition?'_ It was a theory he had read long ago in his past life. Something about how it was watered down version of the Seer's abilities? _'I wonder, if I were to practice with using it, would it get closer to actually seeing future possible events?'_

His thoughts were pulled away from him as Nana placed a plate of food in front of him. Tsuna mumbled a quick 'thank you for the food' before taking a bite. If there was one thing Nana knew how to win him over with, it was with her food. Why she never opened a restaurant was beyond him, but he didn't mind. The more for him.

"Tsu-Kun, did you finish a portion of the homework I gave you?" Nana asked, taking a seat across from him. "I understand some of the material isn't something you studied, so it could be a bit more difficult…"

"It's fine. I actually finished it all." Taking another bite, Tsuna savored the taste. Maybe he should brush up on his cooking? It would do him some good. Gives him a reason to be around the knives and other chemicals under the sink.

"Eh? You finished it all? Already?" Receiving a nod from her questions, Nana felt a bit of pride bubble in her chest. "Well, in that the case, I'll make sure you start up right away for those lessons. Originally, the rest of the time you had left before going to school was to finish up the homework, but seeing as you finished it, you can get right to learning self-defense!"

Cracking a cheerful smile, Tsuna nodded his head enthusiastically. Behind his façade, the brunette swallowed his food with a bit of difficulty. **(Forget it being 'hard', consider yourself dead.)** Mentally whimpering as he took in what his intuition meant, he was already regretting his choice.

Oh well. Go big or go home, right?


	4. Mine

"I hate everything." Tsuna grumbled to himself, lying face-first in his bed. His body was sore from working out and the lessons. The moment he stepped inside the dojo, the teacher straight out told him that he wasn't taking any kind of bullshit, and practically demanded that if he was there for fun, then to get the hell out.

Tsuna continued to stand in front of the teacher with half-lid eyes and very bored expression. He didn't even budge when said teacher made a feint punch to his face. The brunet just stood there, without flinching, the fist stopped an inch away from his nose. The boy didn't know if he impressed the teacher or just made him annoyed from the lack of reaction.

Being a beginner with the fighting style, he was placed with others who just started. Meaning, he was placed with other children. While some giggled at him, others gave him curious and wary stares. Mentally older, he understood the concept of how his body should move, how much force to put into an attack. His body, on the other hand, didn't know jack shit and it made it even more difficult.

At times, he would leave a big gap in his defense, other times, he would swing out a kick or punch, just to realize that they weren't going to hit. Mainly because he keeps forgetting that his limbs are no longer the length his mind was telling him. And if it wasn't that, it was because his hands kept tingling. It reminded him of when his arm fell asleep and trying to get it to 'wake up' again.

The only problem with it, was that it felt like something was trying to burst out of his hands. Fairly warm, yet dangerous enough to make someone jump away from his touch. Tsuna later noted, that it was his flames trying to make their appearance. Albeit, he realized it a bit late, as his sparring partner complained about how his punches felt like being touched by a scorched rod. Tsuna decided to wear gloves while going to those lessons from then on.

_'Not that it made a difference.'_ The boy snorted, bringing up his hand to his face. If he wanted to continue these fighting lessons without any trouble, then he has to find a way to keep these flames from popping out. 'Wait. Didn't people use to say how the flames were connected to their spiritual and physical energy?' Brows furrowed, Tsuna rolled over to his side, staring at his hands with confusion. _'Does that mean I have too much and that it's trying to pour out to reduce possible harm to myself?'_

Groaning from the lack of information, he closed his eyes, snuggling into his bed. "Man, I wish I knew more about this stuff. It's been too long since I've read the story, so it's no surprise that I don't really remember the details." Tsuna murmured to himself, feeling his body relax on his bed. As much as he wanted to think more of the subject, he felt tired.

A small nap wouldn't hurt him.

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Hearing nothing coming from the room above, Nana fidgeted in her spot. It was too quiet for her liking, and the last time it was like this, she had lost him. No longer being able to keep herself in the room, the mother went up to investigate. Heart beating a mile a minute, Nana bit down on her lip, trying to convince herself that there was nothing wrong.

There was no reason for Tsuna to do that again. He was finally putting in effort in doing physical activity and his mental prowess grew to unbelievable heights. Nana was sure that Tsuna hadn't even thought about pulling something like that again. His eyes shined with the idea of learning something; they practically sparkled when he got something correct. There were no signs of him falling back to it again.

But, she didn't pick up on the signs before, was it possible that they were there and she wasn't seeing them? The thought made her heart jump into her throat. Picking up her pace, Nana tried to keep her breathing even, pressing her ear against his door. When she heard nothing, her body seized for just a moment.

Hand trembling down to the door knob, the woman opened the door slowly. Eyes wide, body cold, and hands shaking, Nana walked in quietly. For a moment, she thought she was seeing it again. Her little Tsu-Kun, on the ground with the knife sticking out of his stomach. Her little Tsu-Kun surrounded in his blood. _Her little Tsu-Kun cold and still and dead and goneforever-_

She didn't know when she had left the entrance of the door, she didn't even register her movements. Nana stood above Tsuna, hand tracing over his face, nothing more than a ghostly touch. He was warm, he was breathing, but more importantly he was alive. Alive _alivealive-_

Nana clamped her other hand over her mouth doing her best to keep her sobs silent. She wasn't sure how long she stood there, watching her son sleep away. Nana just watched intently, burning the image of his –very much alive- form in her mind. There was no way she was going to let that happen again, and if that meant having her eyes wide open from now on, then so be it.

Letting her hands comb through his untamable hair, the woman gave a soft smile, as Tsuna's brows eased and face slacked into a peaceful one. How long has it been since she's done this? Three years? That didn't seem right. She had to have showed some sort of affection to him in the most recent time, right? Mind whirling, Nana's hand paused as it dawned on her. She hadn't shown him love in years.

She had pushed him away with words, not even acknowledging his hurt expressions. What kind of mother was she? A horrible one, that's for sure. Pulling her hand away from her Tsu-Kun – _'you don't have a right to call him that'_ \- Nana shuffled away to the door. Giving one more look at her child, she closed the door behind her and headed back downstairs.

All the while, she was dealing with her own demons; her own doubts _'what gives you the right to even touch him?'_ Nana had no right to be his mother, not after driving him into harming himself. Not after hurting him so badly.

Lost in thought, Nana never saw the metal bat heading her way.

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**(Wake up. Something's not right. Not right. Wrong, wrongwrong-)** Tsuna woke up to his wonderful intuition screaming at him, leaving him impaired with a killer headache. Hissing as he dug his palms into his temple, the boy pushed himself off his bed gingerly. He didn't even bother looking at his clock to know that he was only asleep for half-hour.

Gritting his teeth, the brunette walked over to his door, intent on figuring out what was wrong. His intuition only went off when his 'upperclassmen' tried to pull something on him during lessons, yet, they were never this bad. Pausing at the loud thump, he pressed his ear against his door. That wasn't his mother, she was normally quiet. Her feet would make soft noises, nothing like what he was hearing.

**(Intruder in the house.)** Pursuing his lips together, Tsuna wondered what he should do. He wasn't strong enough to take down someone just yet, but if he had the element of surprise… Eyes darting around his room, the boy grabbed onto a plastic clothes hanger; the hook itself was metal. The idea of using his books was there, but with his strength, it would only weigh him down.

Nodding down at the object in hand, the pre-teen cracked open his door and waited. Shifting the weight on the balls of his heels, Tsuna held his breath as another loud thump came from the other room. A grunt was heard in the hallway and he watched as a man – **(Mid-twenties. Too strong for you to handle!)** \- come out, dragging a bag of belongs. Belongs which he knew for damn sure belonged to Nana.

His finger twitched at the thought of his mother; she may be an air-head, but even she knew when not to let some stranger inside. **(Didn't know. Intruder got to her.)** Biting back a curse, Tsuna watched as the man got closer to his room. Cold sweat rolled down his temple. He was way out of his league, there was no point in fighting this man, but there was no way Tsuna was going to let him off that easy.

Another second passed and they made eye contact. The man opened his mouth to let out a yell to scare the boy into submission. With that opening, Tsuna lunged at him like man on a mission. Twisting the clothes hanger in his hand, Tsuna let the hook delve into the stranger's mouth and pulled. The intruder gave a muffled like howl of pain as the pre-teen climbed onto his back, wrapping his legs around the other's torso to get leverage.

Not letting up on his grip, the brunet continued to pull on the hanger and mentally cursed. The hook was stuck on the top of the man's mouth, but the rest of it was going to break. It was, after all, made out of plastic. His worry on the hanger left quickly as he felt the other grab his wrists and –

_'Son of bitch!'_ Was Tsuna's thoughts as the man rammed him right into the wall behind him. The man pulled forward and thrusted back, making the pre-teen gasp at the pain. "Fuck!" Growling, Tsuna's eyes darted around once more, dread filling his stomach. There was nothing in the hallway for him to use nothing to help- "Gah!"

Wasting no time, the older male flipped Tsuna over his shoulder, slamming him down onto the ground. The hanger left his hands, easily breaking as he had thought, and Tsuna could only gasp for air. The man didn't hesitate to jump him, straddling him even. Hands gripped the boy's shirt, lifting him up only to be slammed down on the floor.

"This was supposed to be an easy target." Raise, slam down once more. "Knock the woman out and take what I want!" Raise. Slam. Why did his head feel warm? "And then you-! You damn brat just had to make this fucking difficult, didn't you?" Raise. Ah, red splats left his face just now. _Slam._ Tsuna vision swirled as the man left him on the ground, huffing with an angry look on his face.

With blurred vision, Tsuna could see the man move once more. Hands wrapped around his neck, Tsuna gasped, only to not have air go through. Eyes snapped open with panic, the boy tried to see more than a blurry figure. Arms flailing around to loosen the pressure around his neck, he didn't know how many times he gasped for air.

"This is what you get for ruining my plans! Maybe it'll teach you a lesson to not play hero in your next life!" Tsuna brain shut-down at the words. Next life? He was going to die? He was going to die again right after getting another chance? No. No, no, no, no. This wasn't right.

This was his life. He got this life because he didn't want to die! Vision darkening, Tsuna felt more light headed than before, it only served him to panic more. _'No, no. Can't die. Can't die! This is my life! You have no right to take it away from me! Not when I finally have a second chance! This is mine!'_

**You can't take it! Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine! Mine!**

Desperation and determination set in, his small hands gripped onto the other's wrists. The man howled in pain once more as his flesh was scorched. Wrenching the hands off his neck, Tsuna gulped down air like a thirsty man in the desert. With new found strength, Tsuna pushed the man off, reversing their positions. Knees pressed down the man's shoulders, right hand covered his mouth, resulting with muffled screams of pain.

"This is my life, you can't take it from me. **_I won't let you._** " Without thinking, Tsuna pressed his left hand on the man's throat, watching as the other thrashed around in horror. The only thing the brunette could see and understand in his state was that his hands were on fire. That something was burning. How still the person had become. How the body below him was turning black.

How there was nothing left but black ash below him.

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"Nngh…" Nana blinked slowly, the pain on the back of her head throbbed, making her hiss. Hearing shuffling coming to her right, she looked up to see Tsuna hover over her with a worried expression. "Tsu-Kun? W-what happened?"

Tsuna licked his lips, keeping the expression up as he handed her a cup of water and pain pills. "I-I found you unconscious on the floor. I think you might have slipped on something and hit the counter." Watching her take the pills, the brunet took the empty cup and placed it on the table as quickly as possible. "It's probably best that you rest. A-after all, that bump on your head looks pretty bad."

Nana waved him off, giving a strain smile as she pushed herself onto her feet. "But if I were to rest, who would make dinner?"

"I will." Blinking at his immediate response, Nana couldn't help but stare. Tsuna twitched, looking away from her with a small frown. "I've been reading up on h-how to cook. So it shouldn't be a problem for me to make something. You could, uh, I d-don't know? Sit and, er, supervise?"

She blinked once more at his stuttering, it warmed her heart that some part of her old Tsu-kun was still there. Giving a gentle smile, Nana nodded her head, clasping her hands together. "Alright Tsu-Kun. Go ahead and show me what you got!"

Lips perking up, Tsuna nodded his head. His hands hovered over her shoulder, jerking his head to the door. "Then let's go to the kitchen. I'll make sure you'll enjoy what I have in mind, Kaa-Chan." A choked sob was all it took for him to jump away from her in fright. Staring at her with wide eyes, Tsuna's worry morphed to confusion as he watched his mother cry. "A-are you okay? Does your head hurt that much? Maybe you should lay down…"

"No. No, I'm alright. It's just…" Nana wiped away some of her tears, smiling even more at her son. "It's been awhile since you've called me 'Kaa-Chan'." She watched his mouth form an 'O'. Watched him rub the back of his head in embarrassment. "Now, let's go to the kitchen. Ooh, I can't wait to see what my Tsu-Kun could dish up!"

Trailing after his mother, Tsuna cast a glance over to the set of stairs. He hadn't intended for it to end that way. Maybe knock the man out and send him on his way. Never kill him. Then again, that was his thoughts about his soon-to-be victims. Make them hurt and acknowledge that he wasn't their punching bag anymore. Have them go through accidents that could send them to the hospital –like how they did him- and that was all.

But actually killing? That hadn't crossed his mind.

Once he had come-to, Tsuna ran to the bathroom and threw-up. After that, he cleaned up. Cleaned himself up and cleaned up the hallway. Used the vacuum to pick up the ash, and grabbed every bit of cleaning product that he could get his hands on. No one would know, let alone could tell what happened in the hallway. But for now, he knew for damn sure that he needed to learn how to control his flames. He wasn't going to touch anyone until he got a better control of it.

Still, there was a bit of thrill in him after that, knowing that he had gotten away with murder. There was no way he was going to tell anyone. He was going to take that to his grave.


	5. Sheep's Clothing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **(Speaking)** = Hyper Intuition

Staring down at the paper with blank eyes, Tsuna wrote down his name robotically as his mind went somewhere else. Ever since the intruder, he put his all into the fighting lessons. If he couldn't handle a man with no mafia relations, then how was he supposed to deal with those who did? He had nearly lost his life –again- all because he wasn't prepared.

And then there was another problem; his flames. They were still the same Sky Flames as he had remembered them to be in the story. Bright orange and strong; probably too strong. Ideas flew around his head, trying to get a better understanding to control them with ease. So far, mediation and releasing them were the only things that helped. Of course, his hands were still too warm to touch.

Not by much, but it was better than nothing. But when angered, things could be burned away in his grasp. Giving the paper a slow blink, the boy went down to the next question as he continued to zone out. There was something else that was bothering him. Well, if he was honest, it was the lack of it.

After killing someone, you would imagine being overwhelmed with grief and denial that came with it. Where were the nightmares that people normally got? Where was the guilt that was supposed to weigh him down? Was it going to hit him when he least expected it to? Most likely –but shouldn't he feel sick? Or at least disgusted with himself? It had been done in his own house for heaven's sake! He should be feeling something! Tsuna didn't even feel numb.

He just felt incredibly light. The boy knew that wasn't what he was supposed to feel like. Waiting was the only thing he could do; wait until it hit him with full force and leave him with his mind. Until then, Tsuna will continue on, like nothing ever happened. Like he never killed a person in his house.

_It never happened._

The paper ball that smacked his head brought him back to reality as he stared at it. Snickers from the far right of the class reached his ears easily. Tsuna looked over to the students on said side, watching as most of them continued to snicker or leer at him. _'Ugh, what a bunch of brats.'_ Was his only thought before taking the paper ball in his left hand.

He wasn't going to throw it back at them; the boy wasn't that stupid. Besides, even if he did, it would be his luck for the teacher to turn around as he did so. No, the boy wasn't going to fall for such a thing. Tsuna ignored the looks the bra- students- sent him as he continued to write down his answers, crumpling the paper ball. As much as the brunet wanted to burn it to warn them, Tsuna thought otherwise, it was better not to start a fire in school.

Hibari would most likely have his ass if he did.

His nose scrunched up at having to deal with perfect. If there was one thing Tsuna was definitely going to do, it was to avoid him like the plague. Flames or not, he was not strong enough to take him head on. That would be suicide. Turning his attention to the left of the class, he eyed the windows that let the warm light in, causing him to frown. Why couldn't he get a seat near it? He was a row away from the window and damn it all, he wanted to sit near one.

Mentally sighing at not getting the seat he wanted, Tsuna let his eyes wander around the class once more. There wasn't anything wrong with his fellow classmates, it was just that they annoyed him to no end. Irritation creeped up on him as many of them returned his gaze with disgust. Barely holding back a snort, Tsuna disregarded them and continued. Only, he couldn't tear his gaze away from one person.

_"I'm sorry. I don't like you that way." Was a reply from another girl, hair that looked like a mixture of orange and gold._

Oh. Oh god damn it.

Tsuna clamped his mouth shut, forcing his attention back on to his paper and ready to forget that. She was the last straw that broke the boy. From the corner of his eye, he could see her glancing back at him. He made it a point to ignore her. Anger, hurt, and longing bubbled up. Tsuna wanted to go and tell her a few choice words, but held back.

It wasn't her fault that he decided enough was enough. Rejection was bound to hurt. While the boy wanted to make his tormentors feel what he did, he wasn't going to stoop so damn low just for her to feel the same way. After all, those who harm another from rejection are far worse, in his opinion. Tsuna was just going to ignore her. It was as simple as that.

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"Sawada-Kun."

Tsuna cringed, freezing in place at the voice that called out to him. _'Or so I thought.'_ Taking a deep breath in, the boy looked over his shoulder. "Yes?" He replied with a monotone voice, watching as she flinched. He had pretty much bolted out the classroom the moment the bell rang, fully intent to go to the library and make a list of his targets.

His eyes trailed over to the other figure behind her and almost flinched with the glare he was getting. Kurokawa Hana was, in a word, scary. She was known to stick by the other, Sasagawa Kyoko, and speak her mind. Tsuna wasn't sure why the girl was glaring at him but didn't really care much either. Turning his body around slightly –his neck was beginning to hurt, okay!? - Tsuna continued to stare with his blank expression.

Watching her shift from foot to foot, he waited for her to say something. Anything was fine, as long as it got whatever she wanted done and over with. She opened her mouth to say something, closing it shut a second letter, and opened it once more. It was slightly amusing to him; the girl was trying but utterly failing at gathering words.

As amusing as this was, he didn't have the time for this. "If you're trying to apologize for what I've done, then don't." That got her to closer her mouth once more.

Kyoko gave a start, staring at him with wide eyes. "B-But if I had actually taken what you said into consideration, you wouldn't have-"

"You were just telling me how you feel." Tsuna gave a mock look of thoughtfulness, tilting his head as he did so. "Last I checked, there was nothing wrong with that."

"Still…" He watched her lower her head and –oh no, were those tears? Abort. _Abort now!_ "It's my fault that you ended up… I-I'm just glad that you're here and w-well." Kyoko was definitely going to cry.

Holding back another cringe, Tsuna pulled out his orange handkerchief, and handed it to her. She gave him a confused look; he could practically see the questions she wanted to ask in her eyes. Why was he being nice to her? The one who rejected and ended him? He could have yelled but why hadn't he? Honestly, looking at her made his head spin.

His face relaxed slightly as she took his handkerchief, patting her tears away. "Listen. I know you feel guilty about what I did, but you shouldn't. You didn't know what I was going through or had any intentions of harming me. There's nothing wrong from you rejecting me and it is most certainly not your fault." Holding his hand up when the girl was going to retort, Tsuna mentally mused at how she remained silent. The boy continued. "Really, you're not at fault for my actions. After all, last I remember, you weren't the one holding the knife, Sasagawa-San. I was." He couldn't be angry at her; she wasn't at fault. Tsuna, for the first time coming back, gave a warm smile. "So please, don't feel guilty about it."

 **(Kyoko is definitely going to cry now.)** And, true to his intuition's words, she did. He flailed for a moment; crying people wasn't something he could handle. Previous life or not, he wasn't good at comforting them.

Hana, whom had been silent, gave her friend a reassured half-hug. "Hey, no need to cry. It's just like he said, you don't need to feel guilty for something you didn't do." Seeing her friend trying to wipe her face away once more, she gave a sigh and looked over to the boy. Giving a shrewd look, Hana raised a brow at him. "You're a lot different than the last time I've seen you, Sawada."

Tsuna gave a shrug, keeping up his friendly smile. "Can it be helped? A lot of things have been going on, so it's no surprise, if you really think about it." Twisting his body away from them, the boy bowed his head to them. "Now, if you don't mind, I sort of need to take care of a few things. Plus, it would do us some good if we left the area. Wouldn't want Hibari-San to catch us 'crowding' in the halls, right?"

"W-wait!" Hand gripping the back of his shirt, Tsuna jerked to a stop, looking mildly surprised. Kyoko returned the look, yet her hand held on tighter. "Is it, ma-may I…?" Biting down on her lip, the girl tried to organize her mind before looking back at the brunet. "I h-have no right to ask of this from you, but m-may I call you 'Tsuna-Kun'?"

Blinking slowly, he let the words set in. Her actions made him think something important would leave her mouth, but to know now what she wanted. Tsuna couldn't help it; he laughed. It wasn't a bitter laugh like before; it was warm and alluring. Turning around to face her once more, Tsuna's laughter bubbled down to a giggle. "It's fi-fine. I don't mind at all." Tsuna grinned once more, pearling teeth showing. Bringing his hand up, the pre-teen let it rest on her head, patting her softly. "If that's all, I'll see you around, okay?"

Feeling her hand let go of him, he walked away, waving goodbye to them as he left them in the hall. Never did he see the school idol's face turn red.

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"Tsu-Kun, how was school?" Nana asked, popping her head out of the kitchen when she heard his soft greeting.

"Ah, it was alright? They went over material I already knew, so it was pretty easy." Tsuna replied, toeing off his shoes. "I also met with Sasagawa today." Putting his shoes away, he missed how his mother twitched at the name. "She was apologizing to me about the rejection, but I let her know that it was fine."

Nana smiled slightly. "I see." Don't get her wrong, she had heard good things about the girl, but after that, she wasn't so sure. Her Tsu-Kun was so fragile at the time, and the mother had foolishly thought everything was going to be alright. Shaking her head, she continued to smile. "I'm glad to know that you're finding school easy. Now, why don't you go wash up? Dinner will be ready soon. We're having Tsu-Kun's favorite!"

"We're having Salisbury steak tonight? Alright!" Politely ignoring her child's fist bump, Nana went back to cooking as the boy rushed up stairs. Throwing his school bag on his bed without thought, Tsuna went through his closet to get comfortable clothes.

Once he was done with dinner and homework, he'll go back to those notes of his. If he was going to make them look like accidents, then he better brush up on his targets. What better way for them to be fooled then to think he was still no-good? With a sharp grin, the brunet skipped out of his room and towards the bathroom.

Yes, school will be far too easy.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To the reader who has left a very long comment; first of all, thank you. Like wow, that put me in a really good mood.  
> To answer your question, seeing as this is a Self-Insert, the 'reborn' woman has read the manga in her previous life. To her, she should know what happens and what shouldn't. Of course, it doesn't mean it will the stay the same. 
> 
> Who knows? Maybe it'll stray from Canon. Like I mentioned in my tags, my stories hardly have any plots to them. They have a mind of their own.


	6. Suspecting Rain

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> AN: If any of you are interested, there's now a playlist on 8Tacks for this fic. || http://8tracks.com/rei-rei13/break-my-bones ||

_'So much for avoiding the plague.'_ Cold grey eyes stared down at him, lips pursed together. The fleeting thought of how handsome the other went and left their mind as they blinked up them. "Ah, hello Hibari-San. How are you this fine morning?" Tsuna drawled out, watching as the perfect scowled.

"Herbivore. Explain." What was with that way of talking? Did Hibari only know a few words and grunts? Watching those eyes narrow down at him, Tsuna gulped, feeling rather cold all of a sudden.

"Oh, you know: bullies, the usual." Shrugging from the ground, he struggled on what else to say. "They make it a habit of crowding together before pouncing on me."

"You didn't fight back. Pathetic." Came the scoff from above.

Tsuna couldn't help it, he raised a brow at the perfect. "What did you expect? I was literally dwarfed by them. Not to mention that they had more muscle mass than I did; even if I did fight back, I would have just injured myself."

He was going to die today, if the look Hibari was giving him said anything. There was a breeze, followed by something cold touching his left cheek. Slowly tearing his gaze away from the perfect, Tsuna let out a silent _'hie'_ as he stared at the tonfa sticking out of the ground. It was too close for comfort.

Hearing the click of a tongue, the boy risked looking back at the other. Hibari continued to scowl down at him, even after plucking his tonfa out. "Fix your uniform and head to class." With that, the older teen turned on his heel and walked off.

Rolling himself over, Tsuna propped his face up, leaning it on his open palms, watching as the other's jacket went with the wind rather elegantly. Mentally whistling as the other strut off, he hummed to himself in thought. "Would you look at that, I'm alive. _Woo-hoo_." Pushing himself off the floor, the boy patted away at his uniform, dirt easily coming off his clothes. "Hmm, not that bruised and hardly limping. I'll say that's an improvement."

Musing to himself, the brunet picked up his discarded bag without trouble. When Tsuna had said about injuring himself, it was the half-truth, unfortunately. He may be getting better, but being outnumbered was going to get him in the end.

Walking away from the area, Tsuna began to file away his new findings. _'Izanagi, second-year, favored his right hand and tired out within five minutes; took seven breaks within twelve minutes. Katsou, first-year, proved to be a good kicker; possibly a soccer player, obviously liked to kick things when down; has a short temper. Osamu, second year, appointed 'leader' of the group, tall but not strong. Not really smart either.'_ Pouting at the lack of information, the brunet thought about his plan a bit more.

While he didn't want to get hurt, it was the best way for him to gather information, let them come to him. They were too pig-headed to actually understand why he didn't run away from them. Even while being beaten, Tsuna was able to pick up a few things here and there. How they took turns when one tired and pulled out. How one ordered another and which one didn't like to be ordered.

Working his way with knowing what they like and don't like, and use it against them. Simples. Rubbing his shoulder, a low grunt left him as he touched a bruise. _'I have to think of another plan though. Dealing it like this will only backfire on me later.'_ Passing by a window –an empty class, thankfully- Tsuna looked over his appearance. He didn't look bad, especially after being beaten.

There was hardly any bruises on his face. Uniform looked presentable, even though it was a bit scuffed up. Trailing over his face once more, the boy noted how some of his baby fat was gone. Tsuna's face was becoming more appealing with an odd mixture; cute, yet sexy. The boy's eyes had remained half-lid, orange orbs looked back at him. Tsuna had thought this once before, but he will think it once again.

_Nice._

Merrily humming to himself as he walked down the halls, he wondered what the world had in store for him today. Reaching his class, he opened the door and waltzed in. "Tsuna-Kun, good morning!" Came a chirp-like greeting from Kyoko.

Bowing his head towards her and Hana, Tsuna gave a lazy smile. "Good morning, Sasagawa-San, Kurokawa-San." Hearing the whispers from others, Hana gave them a scowl, while Kyoko looked at him with a pout.

"You can call me 'Kyoko'. It's only fair since I'm calling you 'Tsuna-Kun'!" Blinking at the orange-gold hair idol with confusion, she looked over to her friend, smiling. "Ne, don't you think it's fair, Hana-Chan?"

Giving another classmate a scowl before turning her attention to the two before her, Hana flipped her hair over her shoulder. "I suppose so. You better not think anything of it. _Tsuna-San_." Hearing Hana hiss out his name, obviously finding it strange and oddly difficult, caused him to chuckle in amusement.

It was low but loud enough for the two to hear it. "Now, now. Adding the 'San' is a bit much. I don't mind if you just call me 'Tsuna'." The boy tilted his head, giving the girls a teasing smile. "Of course, I'm happy that you two are willing to call me by my given name. Kyoko-Chan, Hana- _Chan_." It was then, that Tsuna noticed, how quiet the room had gotten.

Glancing over his shoulders, classmates alike were staring at them –no, they were staring at him, like he grew another head. The silence didn't last, as the last bell rung, sending some scrambling inside or to their desks.

Frowning at their odd behavior, Tsuna gave the two females another lazy smile, walking away. "Looks like class is about to start. Talk to you two later." Placing the bag on his desk, Tsuna looked towards the window again and blinked.

Yamamoto Takeshi was staring right him.

Dipping his head towards the baseball player, receiving a goofy **(fake)** grin, Tsuna took his seat. Focusing on taking his things out instead of staring back at the other male. From the corner of his eye, it was obvious to see that the taller male was still staring at him. There was no shame in those eyes; just childlike curiosity.

The idea of asking him if there was something on his face crossed his mind. Although, having the teacher walk right in as he was going to vocalize his thoughts stopped him. Oh well, not like it really bothered him.

.  
.  
.

Tsuna takes it back, it was bothering him like no tomorrow. Yamamoto Takeshi had stared at him throughout the whole class session. This wasn't childlike curiosity at all; why the hell did he think it was that? What did he do to get the baseball star's attention? Nothing, that's for sure! Any movement he had made was followed and taken in by the other. Was this how it felt to be observed? To have everything he does mentally written down?

God it was disturbing.

_'Maybe he picked up that I'm planning something? I'm sure my actions and voice don't show that I'm faking here and there.'_ Twirling his led pencil, Tsuna kept his head down as the teacher continued to drone away. _'Yamamoto was supposed to be the Rain Guardian for the original Tsuna; not to mention that Reborn has constantly said that he was a natural born Hitman.'_ He stopped twirling his led pencil.

Wait. Was that it? Was his instinct as a Hitman telling him to keep an eye on Tsuna? Clutching the led pencil in his hand, the brunet gritted his teeth in slight frustration. If that were true, then that would mean Yamamoto would try to do something to get in his way. Maybe not physical. Definitely not. He was the Rain, soothing any troubles away. Fighting wasn't exactly in his nature.

So, would he try to talk him out of doing what he intended? Either way, having Yamamoto so focused on him made a dent in his plans to get more information. _'If it really is his instinct telling him to keep me in check, then it most likely rivals to my hyper intuition.'_ Taking a quick glance to the left side, Tsuna found the baseball stare still staring at him. _'Shit, can't I get a break around here?'_

Yet the question still remained; what did he do to catch Yamamoto's attention? His instinct wouldn't have just started, there had to be a reason as to why it kicked it. Frowning to himself as he watched their teacher pick on a sleeping student, Tsuna thought harder. Instinct or not, it had to be triggered by something. It wasn't as if the brunet was targeting him either, so that wasn't it. If anything, it would have been triggered if he was targeting a 'friend' of his.

That wasn't right either, Tsuna was just targeting his bullies.

Tsuna stared at his note book with dead eyes. _'Izanagi, second-year, favored his right hand and tired out within five minutes; took seven breaks within twelve minutes.'_ Izanagi was a part of the baseball team, a side-player, he was the one to have recruited Yamamoto in the beginning of the year! _'God fucking damn it!'_

**_Snap_ **

Taking in a harsh breath in-between his teeth, Tsuna looked down at his hand, led pencil broken in half. Fuc- "Sawada, is there a problem?" The teacher, Dohachiro Nezu, sneered at him. It was then that Tsuna noticed that every student was staring at him with wide eyes. Those who sat near him tried to shuffle their seat away from him. They must have smelt the burning plastic from the poor unfortunately pencil in his hand.

Putting on a sheepish smile, Tsuna raised his head up, rubbing the back of his head with his left hand. "O-oh, no, no problem at all. I guess I was just having such a horrible time understanding the material that I must have held onto my pencil a bit more than usual. A-Ahahaha…"

That made the other students to snicker or snort at him; many of them rolled his eyes, muttering under their breath, calling him 'Dame-Tsuna'. Jackass- Er, Nezu-Sensei, stuck his nose up haughtily. "Hmph, well it's no surprise that you would have a difficult time understanding this. What is surprising, is that you caught up to us while you were gone."

With that, the students spoke up, throwing insults at him or just laughing about how 'dame' he was. Ducking his head down, the boy wondered why this teacher even had this job to being with. Nezu certainly had no right to talk down on him like that when he, himself, was a fraud. A light-bulb formed above Tsuna head, as he grabbed his bag in search for another pencil.

It was decided; Dohachiro Nezu would be the first to experience an accident. Tsuna will dig up that damn time-capsule, shove it to the principle with how he is a fraud and let the principle take care of the teacher. The brunet's lip twitched upward, having his new pencil in hand. While being in a 'conversation' Tsuna will walk off to find Nezu's car and cut off his brakes.

First things first; getting Yamamoto off his back so he can go through his plan. It wouldn't be a great idea for him to do so with the baseball star watching his every move. Everyone would believe him instantly and that wouldn't do. Dame-Tsuna or not, they wouldn't take his side when he would object to the other's 'accusations'.

_'Great. First the plague and now him. Just what I needed.'_ This was highly annoying. Stupid instincts. Stupid school perfects. _'But…it should work out for me. If I let this drag out, then I could show Yamamoto I'm not a threat to his 'friend' and I will be able to figure out which car belongs to Nezu. Can't cut off the brakes on the wrong car by mistake.'_

Now, what to do to get Yamamoto Takeshi to stop staring at him?


	7. Second Thoughts

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry for not posting anything, I've been highly distracted with running two ask-blogs of mine.   
> ; A ;

Waving Kyoko and Hana away with promises of eating with them next time, Tsuna walked down the hall, avoiding other students. There were plenty of students in the hall, their chatter and footsteps were loud. But not loud enough to cover up the footsteps that were following him. Stuffing his left hand in his pocket, Tsuna clutched his lunch in his right hand, doing his best not to shudder.

Let it be known that Yamamoto's stare could rival his own. There were a few times that his footsteps faltered; the only time that happened was when a few girls stopped the baseball star, requesting for him to eat with them. Tsuna took full advantage of that, picking up his pace to get the hell away from the other. Huffing in frustration as he heard the other give quick apologetic replies, the damn footsteps were behind him once more, he wondered how to get rid of him.

By all means, Yamamoto was a nice guy through and through, but his constant surveillance on him was grating on his last nerve. Couldn't he understand that Tsuna wanted to be alone? No, he probably did; which was why he was trying even harder to be around him. _'Man, Reborn's not even here and I still have to stay on my toes.'_

Embracing the warmth and breeze as he took a step outside the building, Tsuna continued to walk away and closer to the shaded area. As much as he wanted to enjoy how nice it was outside, he couldn't do so with his attention focused on the one behind him. Plopping himself down on the shaded area, the grass crumbled under his weight.

The weight of the other's gaze made Tsuna's shoulders' sag; he couldn't take it anymore. "Why are you here, Yamamoto-San?" He asked, unwrapping his lunch.

"Eh? Why wouldn't I be here? Its school, I have to come here, ha-ha!" Looking over his shoulder, Tsuna stared at the other with a blank expression.

_That smart ass little fucker._

"That's not what I meant." Yamamoto had the audacity to give him a confused look. "I mean, why were you _following_ me? Don't you have something better to do than watch me?"

Yamamoto said nothing, opting to stare down at the brunet; Tsuna did his best not to fidget. "Oh, that." Brow twitched at the two word reply, the two remained silent. A sudden laugh escaped Yamamoto, rubbing the back of his head as he looked away. "It's just that, I realized that you looked funny."

Tsuna slowly raised a brow, pleased to know that Yamamoto registered his words and began to splutter. "What? What do you mean-? How do I look 'fun _ny_ '?!" There was a crack in his voice, causing the reborn preteen to rub his throat in slight mortification.

"I didn't mean that you look funny, I mean, uh. How to explain it?" Giving a nervous chuckle, Yamamoto went ahead and plopped himself down near the other; politely ignoring how Tsuna shuffled away. "Hmm… I think, the best way to explain it is like this: you act a like a girl sometimes."

Trying to eat wasn't a good idea, Tsuna thought, as he coughed a bit on the rice he had in his mouth. "W-What?!" Patting at his chest, the brunet ignored the tears that formed at the corner of his eyes. "And that doesn't explain why you were following me!"

"But it does!" The other shot back playfully, not even bothered that Tsuna was having a coughing fit. "In class, I noticed that you sit like the girls. You have your legs pressed together and fold your left ankle over your right, hooking it under the chair leg. Only girls do that." Tsuna, after finally getting the rice dislodged from his throat, gaped up at the other. "Not only that, but when I was following you, I noticed you sway your hips."

Why would he point that out? That's how he walked all the time! It wasn't anything strange to warrant such attention; after all, as a grown woman- _'Not a lady anymore. Just a preteen boy that moves like one. Oh my god, that's why he was watching. Old habits die hard, I suppose but seriously? I can't believe I forgot about that!'_ Tsuna scrunched his nose up, mentally berating himself.

He had forgotten that he was no longer a woman –but could you seriously blame him for that? The reborn-Tsuna had been completely focused on getting payback for the old-Tsuna that it didn't cross his mind at all. Now that it was brought to his attention, the brunet paled. He was going to deal with puberty; a guy's puberty. He didn't know anything about it! Sure, he heard rumors of how they just felt sore but nothing else. And his voice-!

Oh god, it cracked moments ago. What else was going to happen? The woman-turned-boy couldn't really think straight. In a way, they felt like the old-Tsuna; flustered, confused, and unsure. They didn't like that feeling. "You're even sitting like a girl right now." Yamamoto's voice disrupt his confusing thoughts, snapping him back to attention.

_'How could I be sitting like a girl right now?!'_ Tsuna screeched inwardly, eyes darting down to his lap. They were folded together, and ankles linked; right knee touched the grass while his left laid on top the other. Eyes moving over to compare the differences, the brunet blinked. Yamamoto was sitting with his legs crossed; Indian style. Oh. _Oh._ The boy blushed. "T-This is a lot more comfortable and I c-can place my bento on my lap!" Came out his half-ass reply.

"Is it?" Yamamoto then proceeded to copy his posture, only for him to not last a minute. The boy groaned, stretching his legs out. "That isn't comfortable at all, Sawada." He moaned, letting himself drop back into the grass.

Tsuna watched the other stretch out from the corner of his eye, absentmindedly poking at his food. He gave a shrug, bringing some food close to his mouth. "Must be our sizes. You're taller than me, so maybe you pinched something?" Silently eating, Tsuna savored the taste. He really needed to convince his mother that he could cook. Sure, he had done it once and the food came out great, but the woman hadn't let him try cooking again after that.

The two remained silent. It was peaceful, something Tsuna didn't think he would expect out of how much the other stared at him. Before, it was a very heavy gaze, but now he felt relaxed. Was Yamamoto subconsciously using his flames to calm him down? Stuffing his face with an omelet, Tsuna shooed the thought away. There was no way Yamamoto knew of it, not yet, at least.

But Tsuna couldn't help but wonder if that was the only reason why the boy was watching him. Was his movements that close to a females that it left him confused and attentive? _'Maybe it was. If so, then I won't have to worry about him watching my every move. I'll have free reign to do as I please.'_ Looking down at his food, Tsuna pushed some rice to the corner of his bento box, lips pursed in thought. _'Doesn't mean I should let my guard down. Someone is bound to notice the pattern. But what to do about it?'_

"Sawada?" Humming in reply, the boy waited. "I've noticed that you tell the teachers you don't understand the material, but still get high scores on the tests." Tsuna paused, keeping his gaze on his food. Yamamoto shifted beside him, scratching at his right cheek. "I was wondering if you could, um, possibly help me with it."

Tsuna blinked. "Are you asking me to be your tutor?" Hearing the weak laughter from the sprawled out teen behind him was his answer. Wouldn't this put a bigger dent in his plans though? It would give Yamamoto a reason to be around him or seek him out. It would give the boy an advantage; keep your friends close but your enemies closer, huh? _'But… but if I agree, I can turn it around.'_ Feeling his lips twist up, Tsuna shook his head, giving the other a friendly smile. "Sure, I don't mind. Which subjects are you having trouble with, Yamamoto-San?"

Yamamoto sat up quickly, smiling brightly. "Really? You'll help me out? You're the best, Sawada! I was so worried that you wouldn't help me. My Senpai was telling me how my grades were going to keep me from playing Baseball, and I really, really want to play!" He paused in his rant, realizing that he hadn't said which subjects he needed help with.

While listing the subjects he had a hard time with, Tsuna had finished his lunch and packed it away once again, staring at the other with wide eyes. "You need help in all subjects?" How was Yamamoto even able to stay on the team, he didn't know. Sighing as the other boy laughed in a sheepish manner, Tsuna pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay. For this to work, you need to tell me when you have Baseball practice, that way, we'll work around that. I'm not going to lie, Science and Japanese History is not my forte, but I can still help you out enough to pass."

"Man, you're a lifesaver, Tsuna. Ah, is it alright if I call you that? I overheard Sasagawa and Kurokawa calling you that." Receiving a slow nod from said boy, Yamamoto pointed at himself. "Then you can go ahead and call me 'Takeshi', if you want!"

"Er, o-okay, Takeshi-Kun?" Hearing the bell go off once more, the brunet held back a sigh of relief. "It's probably best that you write down your schedule and which subject you have the hardest time with to the least. That way, we'll tackle the hardest one and get it out of the way." Picking himself up, Tsuna tilted his head. "Just go ahead and give me the list when you're done with it. I'll let you know when we'll start the study session. Is that alright?"

"Yeah, thanks again, Tsuna! I'll see ya later than!" Running ahead, Tsuna waved him off, walking back to the building in a slower pace.

Finding out the reason why Yamamoto was staring at him was a bit easier than he had previously thought. Now with the promise of tutoring the baseball star, Tsuna couldn't help but smile. Sure, it would have made a dent in his plans, but if used his cards carefully, Tsuna could get Yamamoto to be on his side. If he had his loyalty and if everyone seen that they were 'friends', then no matter what another student says about Tsuna, Yamamoto would back him up.

Lips curled up into a smirk, Tsuna chuckled softly. Popularity was always a fickle thing, but when used correctly, it could be used to manipulate a huge amount of people. Yamamoto had a lot of people admiring him, close by or afar, they would do as the baseball star says without a second thought. _'All I have to do is make sure I don't make that Hitman instinct set off. And even if it does, I'll have to play the victim card so he doesn't suspect me in the wrong.'_

This was going to be a bit harder than originally planned, but every good thing comes with the right amount of patience. And the reborn-Tsuna has plenty of that; stringing things along will always come with good results. He just had to sew said strings into the ones he wants and pull them along for the ride. That thought aside, Tsuna hummed to himself cheerfully.

Nana was going to be happy that he made a 'friend' at school today.


	8. Mama Bear Mode: ACTIVATED

If there were a few things Nana noticed about her son, the first was obviously how he held himself. Tsuna, before the incident, always curled in on himself, as if trying to make himself smaller. Now, her boy stood tall, chest out and hands curled into relaxed fists by his side.

The second would have to be his intelligence. Before, Tsuna had trouble understanding anything, even had trouble reading elementary books. Now, he was reading college books as if they were nothing and even corrected a few grammar errors in said books.

Third: his eyes. Her darling little boy always had the most beautiful brown eyes to grace the world –she might be biased on it but it was true- that had orange dots glimmer in them. Now though, they were no longer brown. They were orange; they reminded her of fire. So bright and full of life, but also so dangerous.

The fourth? It was most definitely his odd habits of looking around and asking for strange things. They were little things, stuff she wouldn't blink an eye at. Well, she wouldn't have, if Tsuna didn't give said objects thoughtful looks.

Like now for instance. "Kaa-Chan, do we have a bucket somewhere? With some water? I sort of need it." Came the loud question from upstairs. Nana blinked at the request, tilting her head in confusion.

Putting the knife down, the housewife cleaned her hands with the rag nearby. "Why would you need a bucket, Tsu-Kun?" She asked, knowing that he wouldn't be able to hear her. Opening up the cabinet under the sink, Nana pulled out the small blue plastic bucket.

Easily filling it with water, Nana pursed her lips, eyes going back to the knife. The fifth thing she had noticed about her son, was that he suddenly had the urge to cook. Nana would have announced it to the world on how wonderful her Tsu-Kun was, how skillful he seemed to be holding the knife. A shudder when down her spine. No matter how good he seemed to be –along with his cooking skills- she wasn't going to let him near a blade every again.

Which was why she was so stubborn on cooking everything, even when her little Tsu-Kun gave her puppy looks. Carrying the bucket in her arms, she made her way upstairs, and towards Tsuna's room. Seeing the door cracked open, the woman used her foot to wedge it open. "Tsu-Kun? I have the bucket."

Tsuna looked over to his mother, eyes wide and mouth open; the words he was going to say lost in the air. Nana soon copied the expression as she stared. The sixth thing she noticed about her son, was that his hands were on fire.

On. _Fire._

For a moment the two didn't say anything, they just continued to stare at each other with muted horror. After what felt like an eternity, Tsuna gulped. "Kaa-Chan, the bucket?"

Nana almost dropped the object. Clutching it as it almost slipped through her shaking arms, she moved closer. "T-T-Tsu-Kun? Your h-hands..!" Her eyes didn't budge from the fire on his hands, they danced around, as if they had a life of their own. It reminded her of Tsuna's eyes. Nana's mother instinct kicked in. "Oh my goodness! Are you alright? No, no, that's a stupid question. You're hands are on fire, of course you're not alright- _on fire!_ "

"It's okay, they're not hurting me! J-Just please breathe! You're hyperventilating!" He probably should have told her to leave it near his door. Tsuna mentally kicked himself for the lack of thought. The brunet was happy to have her follow his words; while he was still wary around her, it didn't mean he wanted her to die.

There was still a bit of the old-Tsuna's feelings that clung onto him; it was with this information, that the reborn-Tsuna found out that the other was a mama's-boy.

Nana's shoulders shook, taking in deep breaths and letting them out. "W-What? How are you even…?" Her questions trailed off, unsure if she wants to even know what was going on. But if she acted oblivious then wouldn't that mean she's going back on her own words? _'No. I promised that I would keep my eyes open. That I wouldn't look away.'_ Softly gulping, Nana tore her gaze away from the fire and onto Tsuna's face. "Tsu-Kun? C-Can you explain?"

Tsuna shifted from his spot. "Er, yes? Sort of?" He sighed, shoulders slumping down. "I can at least try to. For now, could you put the bucket down? I need to put my hands in it." If Tsuna would have blinked, he would have missed how quickly Nana had put the bucket down. Sighing once more, the boy sat down, dumping his hands inside said bucket.

The sound of the water sizzling filled the air.

Licking his lips, Tsuna tried to think of a good way to explain. He was doing just fine before all this, controlling them, he means. As he had done before, the boy went ahead and tried of meditation and when that didn't work, Tsuna thought the next best thing was to let some out. Of course, when the boy thought this, his thoughts were trailing off to a certain teacher.

Any bit of common sense left the building when he had called out to his mother, because he really didn't want to burn his house down. "Tsu-Kun?" Snapping himself back to reality, Tsuna gave a shaky smile.

Right. Explanation.

_**(This is going to end very badly for someone.)**_ His intuition rang out, making him still for a second.

_Shit._

"I've been able to do this for some time." Tsuna started, letting his mouth run off without a second thought. "I d-don't really understand it either, um, just the fact that it doesn't hurt me? B-but I know if someone else touches them, they might be burned. Uh, err, I guess since you don't know about it, it doesn't come from your side of the family?"

"No. This doesn't come from my family." There was a glint in his mother's eyes and Tsuna did his best to not squeak in terror. "If it doesn't hurt you then I suppose its fine." Nana paused, looking down at the now half-filled bucket. "It seems that your father and I are going to have a talk." She murmured to herself.

"So, I'm not in trouble?" Tsuna asked, staring up at his mother with confusion. Why wasn't she screaming? He had expected her to at least faint and give him a chance to come up with an excuse. And yet, Nana was just standing there, staring at his hands with a thoughtful look.

"Oh no, Tsu-Kun! You're not in any trouble." Nana responded far too cheerfully. Tsuna wanted to push himself into the corner then and there. "Dinner will be done soon, so clean yourself up. Make sure those flames are gone by then too." Gawking at his mother walked out of his room with a smile, the boy wondered what twisted world he landed himself in.

Nana, on the other hand, walked down the stairs with a calm expression. She was, by any means, what her face portrayed. Her mind was going around in circles and halting every other second. Going back to the flames, Nana could have sworn she had seen them once before on her child. Of course, Tsuna was just a child, but it was there. Small and just as bright; yet they were never called on again.

Seeing Tsuna's hands on fire made her remember that she did see it and it was very much real. Remembered that her husband turned her around, spouting how she was tired and seeing things. _Remembered_ said man speaking to his boss in hushed voices –hearing him say Tsuna's name in the mix before they stopped when they realized she was at the door.

Knuckles white from gripping the phone in her hands, Nana barely registered that she started to dial in a very familiar number. One ring. Two rings. There was a bit of hope that he wouldn't pick up. That he would just let it go to voicemail like usual. Four rings. Frowning to herself, Nana shook her head. If she wanted answers, she shouldn't be thinking that.

Six Rings. _"Hello? Nana?"_ Hearing Iemitsu's voice on the other line made her mind go blank. _"Nana, my darling! It's been awhile, I bet you're swooning just hearing my voice!"_ Nana hated the fact that what he said was true.

"Hello, Iemitsu." She started, voice clipped with no room for silly games. She was sure he was listening, he had to have been, considering the woman hardly used this tone. "I was calling to ask you a simple question."

There was silence on the other line, followed by something that sounded like papers being shuffling around. _"Okay? I'm listening, my dear –ah, but if it's to ask me if I'll be able to come home soon, then I have to apologize. You know how work is: busy, busy, busy!"_ Anger bloomed in Nana's chest. Iemitsu was responding like he normally did. _"Haha, I'll make sure to send you something soon."_

The thought of not being taken seriously, especially from her own husband, made something snap. "I wasn't going to ask when you were coming home, you blonde idiot! I was going to ask if your side of the family had some kind of trait that involves flames!" A choke sound from the other was what she got, but Nana didn't care. "Seeing as how the world revolves around you, I guess I shouldn't have even bothered calling!"

_"Wha- Nana!"_

"Have a wonderful day at work, dear. And please, do stay there for as long as possible." Slamming the phone down, Nana felt her knees give out on her. Anger still bubbled in her chest, but so was the feeling of disappointment. Iemitsu was supposed to be her husband, didn't that mean anything? Didn't he know that they weren't supposed to keep secrets from each other?

"Kaa-Chan?" Looking up from her spot, Tsuna stared at her, brows furrowed with concern. He didn't want to tell her that he was listening to her so called 'conversation'. He felt guilty for making her feel so powerless. Carefully making his way towards her, Tsuna crouched down, gently placing his hand on the woman's shoulder. "Are you okay?"

That was a stupid question but he couldn't really think of anything else to say. Nana gave a half-laugh half-sob noise, patting her tears away with a strained smile. "I-I'm alright, Tsu-Kun." The two stayed on the floor, Tsuna making small circular patterns on her shoulder in an awkward attempt of comfort. Nana huffed out a laugh, causing the other brunet to tilt his head at her.

"Feeling better?" Picking himself up, he offered his hand to her. Nana took his hand with a small smile. Finally standing on their feet once more, Tsuna scratched the back of his neck. "So, uh, the fire thing?"

"From the small reaction your father gave, it most definitely came from his family." Nana shook her head with a smile. "I guess you're right about your father, Tsu-Kun." Said boy looked at her, brow raised. "Your father is an asshole." Tsuna slapped a hand on his mouth to stop the laughter from coming out. "I am done with him hiding things from me. When he does come home, he's going to sleep on the couch! No, wait, even better: He's going to sleep in a hotel!"

His mother was done taking Iemitsu's shit, Tsuna has never felt so proud in his life.


	9. Study Group?

Switching his orange shoes for his indoor shoes, Tsuna smiled to himself. His mother had dealt with Iemitsu every time he called. She kept the conversations short and didn't offer him any bit of love or affection. The teenager wasn't going to lie, the first few days had been terrifying. Nana would cut food with a bit more force all the while smiling.

At times, the blade would be stuck _in_ the cutting board. He had momentarily wonder if he should try to pry the knife away from her, but thought otherwise. Nana could be a very scary woman when needed to be. Closing his shoe locker softly, Tsuna walked away, humming to himself.

These past few days, no one really bothered him either. He supposed it was because of the lack of reaction they were looking for. Tsuna would typically scream and try to run, but wasting energy on it seemed unreasonable; so the boy waited in his spot for said bullies.

"Yo, Tsuna!" A hand landed roughly on his shoulder, making him stumble. "Sorry, sorry. Didn't mean to put that much force into it, ha-ha!" Takeshi brought his hand away, choosing to rub the back of his head sheepishly.

"It's fine. You surprised me there for a moment, Yam- er, T-Takeshi-Kun." Tsuna dipped his head to the side, giving the taller boy a side look, a sly smile made its appearance on his face. "Good morning, by the way."

"Morning!" Takeshi replied back, grin in place. Tsuna had looked away before even noticing the pink tint on the other's face. Making a silent 'oh', Takeshi opened his school bag, going through it. The shorter brunet watched him from the corner of his eye, subtly noticing how the other students in the hall stared at them. "I finished the list like you said and put my time-sheet for baseball practice at the bottom. It was a bit harder than I thought." Tsuna almost went cross-eyed as Takeshi shoved the paper close to his face.

Taking the piece of paper, he blinked at the first thing on the list: English. Typical. He had no trouble with teaching it, it was just the fact that even Tsuna hated it. Yeah sure, it was _her_ first language, but that didn't mean she liked it. The grammar was strange, annoying even, and there were far too many words that were similar yet different. One misplaced letter and everything in that sentence was fucked. Not to mention that they –the school here- added Social Studies to it.

Which was a bitch in a-half, if Tsuna did say so himself.

The second thing on the list was Science. _'Fuck. Well, I guess the two of us can try to tackle that one down together. Comparing notes should help too.'_ Tsuna continued; Math, Japanese Language, Civics, Economics, and Health. Tsuna had half-expected Takeshi to put 'Fine Arts' and 'P.E' down. "There's a class missing here." Takeshi hummed at his words. Tsuna blinked once more before opting to look at the baseball star. "I take it that you have no trouble with Sociology?"

"Not really. I get confused about it sometimes, but I just go over my notes or read through the book, and then it just clicks." Takeshi shrugged. "Why? Do you have trouble understanding it?"

"Yes." Tsuna replied quickly, much to his inner horror. "At times everything just goes over my head, and my notes on the subject aren't all that great." Lips pursed, the boy turned his attention to what was in front of him. Attention split in half, one half folding the paper in his hand and the other paying attention to his surroundings. "I should probably go through the book a few more times; probably fix up my notes while I'm at it too."

Finally making it to their class, Takeshi stood behind Tsuna as the shorter male opened the door. "If you need help with it, I can share my notes with you." Suggesting it to the boy caused him to do two things. One: look up and over his shoulder to stare at him. Two: gave the most innocent looking face he had ever seen.

"Eh? Really? That would be great!" Grinning at the thought of shortening his studies by a bit, he looked away, taking a step in. "I'll let my Kaa-Chan know that you're going to be coming over more often to study. I think you will be fine coming over tomorrow, right? The list had an open slot, and getting started on studying will be beneficial for… Takeshi-Kun?"

Noticing that there were no second set of footsteps behind him, Tsuna turned around to look at his 'student'. He blinked at the sight before him. Takeshi remained frozen at the door way, eyes wide and lips slightly parted. But there was a definite amount of red on his cheeks. Brows furrowed, Tsuna tilted his head, wondering if he had gotten sick. As far as Tsuna knows, the Baseball club did stay until the late hours. At times, they would stay even when the sun had gone down.

Was it possible for Takeshi to have stayed out longer than usual?

"You're blocking the entrance, Monkey." Came the dull voice. Almost jumping away from the person, Takeshi stared down at his fellow classmate with wide eyes. Hana, in return, rolled her eyes at him in annoyance. Opting to ignore the goofball, Hana nodded her head towards the brunet. "Morning Tsuna, you're looking happy for it being eight in the morning."

"Good morning Hana-Chan, you're looking absolutely murderous today, for it being eight int he morning." Said girl barred her teeth at him, ignoring at how he gave a blank stare. "Chocolate for your thoughts?" Tsuna pulled out a small chocolate bar from his bag. He knew those symptoms the other was showing far too well.

Hana huffed. "No." She still took the chocolate from his hand though. "So, what were you two talking about just now?" Gesturing at the two, Hana dropped her bag on her desk, followed by dropping herself on her chair.

Finding his voice, Takeshi grinned, waltzing into the class with a skip in his step. "Tsuna here is going to help me study, so we were just talking about what subject to start with and when to get started." Tsuna stiffened, mentally waiting for the backlash to come.

Tsuna wasn't sure if he was disappointed or not when it did.

"What? You asked _Dame-Tsuna_ to help you out? C'mon Takeshi, all you're going to learn from him is how to be even more stupid." Came from one of their classmates from the back.

One of his fangirls nodded their head vigorously. "That's right! Why don't you study with us? We can provide some snacks _and_ have fun!" Some of the girls gave excited whispers; most likely thinking about trying to flirt with him.

If the universe would be so kind to bring him an angel to save his ass, that would be great. "What's everyone talking about?" Tsuna twitched; that wasn't an angel despite what her appearance showed. Kyoko blinked at everyone innocently as she made her way towards her friends. "Good morning, everyone."

While Tsuna and Takeshi traded greetings, Hana huffed. She was clearly becoming agitated with everyone right now. "Everyone's making a fuss over the monkey over here studying with Tsuna. Honestly, they should just mind their own business." The fangirls did not like being dissed, if their red faces said anything about it.

Kyoko frowned at Hana, not only because of her choice of words concerning her fellow students, but the whole reason as to why everyone was so 'lively' this morning. "I think it's a great idea that Yamamoto-Kun asked Tsuna-Kun to study. After all, he has the highest test score in almost every subject." That made everyone silent. "Ah! I know! Why don't we study with them? It'll be fun with more people, don't you think?"

 _'The morning was turning out just fine until now. Why world. Why do you hate me so much? Why not just go ahead and have someone barge into the room and kill me while you're at it!'_ Tsuna moped, giving the ceiling the stink eye. She had never been so unlucky to deal with things like this. Did the world just had a personal agenda against Tsuna? God, he hoped not. He wouldn't survive another few months if it turned out to be true.

An arm made its way around Tsuna's shoulders, snapping him out of his little world. "That does sound like fun! Not only that, but all of us can compare our notes and help each other out. You know what they say: two heads are better than one! Ha-Ha!" Takeshi grinned, pulling the shorter boy closer. "What do you think, Tsuna? Is it alright for the three of us to come over and study tomorrow?"

Tsuna opened his mouth- " _Haah?_ Why are you dragging me into this? I don't need to study as much as you do, Monkey." –And closed it shut as Hana snapped back. The two bickered –it was a one sided argument, really- and Tsuna was stuck in the middle of it. Literally. Takeshi had yet to remove his arm from his shoulders and had him firmly in the middle of the two of them.

He felt like he was experiencing the typical scene in an anime of two people bonding in the strangest ways. Kyoko was on the side, smiling and giggling as her best friend talked ' _passionately_ ' to the other boy. Students either watched them with amusement or just because they had nothing to do.

Sighing, Tsuna placed his hand on Takeshi's chest, giving him a gently shove. Not that it really did anything, the taller boy didn't even budge. "Alright, alright. Enough you two, it's way too early for this." Had Tsuna known that they would quiet down so easily, he would have done so earlier. "It's fine for the three of you to come over tomorrow –and _no_ , Hana-Chan. You don't have to come over if you really don't want to, it's your choice."

Seeing as Takeshi wouldn't budge, Tsuna decided to grab the offending wrist of said arm, and ducked under it. "Now that that's taken care of, I think we should take our seats. Class will be starting soon and I really don't want to be lectured for not being in my seat."

.  
.  
.

Dropping himself on the couch in the living room, Tsuna lazily brought the pillow to his face and groaned. Nana watched her son, finding his reactions rather hilarious. Every time her son came home from school, the boy would either lay on the ground or just flail his arms to show his irritation. It was the first time to see him do something that required any bit of noise. "Eventful day at school today, Tsu-Kun?"

" _Ughh_." Was his only response. Hand covering her mouth, she giggled. Nana couldn't believe that he was acting like a normal boy. A few months ago, he was wary and distant towards everything. It sort of felt like she was dreaming during those days. "Kaa-Chan?" Humming to her child, Tsuna pulled the pillow off his face. "I know this is short notice, but three of my classmates will be coming over tomorrow. Will it be alright if we use the living room to study?"

"Ara? You don't want them to go into your room?" Nana grinned. "Is it because it's a mess?" Tsuna spluttered out a 'no'. He may be a boy but that didn't excuse him for having a messy room. "I'm joking Tsu-Kun, no need to give me that pout. So? Who's coming over?"

Tsuna wasn't pouting, damn it. "Yamamoto Takeshi, Kurokawa Hana, and Sasagawa Kyoko." His mother flinched at the last one. "…Kaa-Chan, do you have something against Kyoko-Chan?"

"What? N-no, of course not!" That was a lie and they both knew it. Letting out a sigh, Nana looked down at her hands. "I don't have anything against her, honest, Tsu-Kun." She paused, worrying at her bottom lip. "I'm just worried about you being so close to her."

"Oh. I get it. You're afraid that I'll kill myself because of her, right?" He didn't know how to word things sometimes, so the blunt like question easily made his mother look at him with wide eyes. "You don't have to worry. I'm not going to do that every again. If I ever do end up in the hospital, it'll be because of my clumsiness. Not because of self-harm."

"…Just, give her a chance. Okay?" Nana nodded her head solemnly. Tsuna knew that even though Nana agreed to give the girl a chance that she was still going to keep a close eye on her. Now that she was actually seeing the world, her mother instincts kicked in full. A mother will never let her child be harmed under their watchful eyes.


	10. Mother Knows Best

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am experiencing a very horrible case of writer's block.

 

Why did he think this was a good idea again? Oh, that’s right. He needed to have Yamamoto’s complete trust and loyalty. And the best thing he could start off with was the boy’s grades. At the time it sounded like the ideal starting line. Get the baseball star to like him and seek him out, ultimately getting used to Tsuna and unknowingly harmonize with him. Did Tsuna even think of the possible headaches that could accrue during that time-frame?

 

No, of course he didn’t.

 

They had been just fine, going over problems, comparing answers and explaining how they got to said answers. Explaining how certain words were better used to others in sentence while reviewing their English worksheets. They even had snacks, laughed here and there. But it all went downhill the moment they decided to share their notes.

 

So, now here he was, burying his face into his right hand as Yamamoto laughed off Hana’s lectures. “How in the world does this make any sense to you? What kind of notes does ‘Whoosh’ and ‘Bam’ make?!” Hana’s face looked red at the amount of yelling she had done.

 

“I don’t know why you’re so angry, it makes perfect sense to me.” Yamamoto replied, raising a brow at the girl. There was definite amusement in the baseball star’s eyes, but Tsuna didn’t even bother pointing it out. He normally would have continued to cover his face and gesture at him with his left hand; but he didn’t.

 

Or, more precisely, he couldn’t. Only because he had his own issue to deal with.

 

“Hana-Chan and Yamamoto-Kun are getting along so easily.” Kyoko chirped, clinging onto Tsuna’s left arm. The boy didn’t know why she was doing this. Ever since the apology, Kyoko got closer to him. And no, he didn’t mean by ‘friendship’ level of comfort; the girl literally got closer to him. At times, enough to brush hands –which she would jump back with a blush- and other times cling onto him like a life-line.

 

At each time she had done so, in his house, Tsuna smiled down at her warmly to make sure she didn’t get upset at peeling away from her touch. Honestly, the boy was trying to save Kyoko’s skin. The seething looks Kyoko was getting behind false warm brown eyes from his mother, made it look like she wanted to chop the girl’s arm off.

 

“Come on Hana-Chan, everyone has their different ways of taking notes that make it easier for them. I’m sure Takeshi’s is just very unique.” Sighing, the brunette dragged his hand down his face, eyes looking up at the ceiling. “We won’t be able to finish the last bit of work if the two of you continue to argue.”

 

Hana looked about ready to turn her frustration onto the brunette, instead, the girl just took a deep breath and let it out with a low groan. "Whatever. I still say his notes are absolutely horrible." She turned back to the idiot, giving him the stink eye. "How you're passing _any_ class is beyond me."

 

"Oh! Well, I do use my lucky pencil when taking tests too, so maybe that helps." Takeshi replied, digging through his belongs to find said pencil.

 

Tsuna, on the other hand, just stared at the other male in the room. A lucky pencil, of all things? How was that even- did people _really_ use such a thing? He thought that was just for kicks or in anime – _'Oh, right.'_ But... he was alive, sure everything looked cartoonish but it was all real. Just thinking about it made Tsuna's head hurt.

 

Takeshi pulled out said pencil, showcasing it to the three in the room. As Kyoko smiled at her fellow idol's, Nana popped her head into the room. "Tsu-kun? Can you come here for a minute?" Said mother gave everyone a smile, although, Tsuna can tell right away it was strained.

 

"Y-Yeah, sure." Peeling away from Kyoko once again, he left his – _what were they to him again? Acquaintances? Friends?_ \- classmates to follow his mother into the kitchen. "Is there something wrong? Are we being too loud?"

 

"Do not play this game with me, Tsunayoshi." Nana started, voice soft yet strong. Her arms were crossed as she stared at her son; the look on her face showed that she was not happy. Tsuna blinked once before looking away. "I thought you said there was nothing going on between the two of you?"

 

"There's not! Kyoko-Chan's just –she's been -I _don't know_ but I'm not doing anything. Do we have to talk about this _now_?" The brunet groaned. While it was nice to know that his mother was more focused, it also annoyed him that she was using said focus on him.

 

"Yes, well it seems like she's aiming for something more than ' _nothing_ '." Dear god, his face was burning. Nana squinted her eyes at him, and hummed, looking unamused. "So you do know what she's doing, but you're not stopping her?"

 

Rubbing the back of his neck, Tsuna looked away, cringing at the slight accusation. "It's not that I haven't really tried. I gave a few signs here and there, but, I guess she didn't pick up on them?" Sighing. Tsuna shrugged, risking a glance at his mother. "Really, why should it matter what _she_ does? As long as I remain uninterested, then it should be fine, right?"

 

Nana gasped, looking on in disbelief. "Tsu-Kun, I thought I raised you better than this." Getting nothing but a semi-blank expression from her son, Nana sighed too. "While I don't want you to get too close to her, do try not to lead her on. That's even worse than being rejected."

 

"That's the thing, I'm not leading her on. I'm only focusing on myself and my own self-goals." She didn't need to know what sort of goals he had in mind, as long as she knew he was just focusing on his own life, that would be just fine. "And, to be honest, I think being led on and rejected are on the same level of cruelty."

 

"Hey, Tsuna! Where did you go?" The Sawada dou blinked at the loud voice from the other room. "C'mon, we still have some stuff we gotta study." Looking back at his mother, Nana let out another sigh, before making a shooing motion.

 

"We'll continue talking about this later, Tsu-Kun. Go study with your classmates for now." Nodding to her words, Tsuna turned around and left the room quietly.

 

Biting down on his lip worryingly, the boy wondered what to do with Kyoko. While she wasn't much of a support character in the original story plot, the girl still had flames; Mist Flames at that. But, would Tsuna really want to have her near him all the time? She was oblivious to the world around her, that it made him annoyed and angry.

 

Having Kyoko join him would mean Hana would follow; probably at a more wary and sensible state. Now she would be useful, being shrewd, sly, and cunning in her own way. But that spells out disaster for him as well. The moment something seems wrong or possibly dangerous to either of them, Hana wouldn't hesitate to turn him in.

 

 _'I suppose, I can keep them in the dark for everything. I don't need two unknowns getting me in trouble sooner than I can predict.'_ Not to mention the more Kyoko spent her time with him, the higher the chances of meeting Ryohei get. And him finding out that Tsuna intentionally letting his precious little sister get into danger? Well, Tsuna would be dead faster than he can say ' _Reborn_ '. 

 

Walking into the living room, Tsuna gave them a smile and went back to his spot. For now, he'll focus on getting them to like him and to get his mother off his back.

.

.

.

 

It was strange, being surrounded by people who cared. Not for what he can do or how 'talented' he was; they liked him for him. He could see the way Hana treated him like she did everyone else. Although, Takeshi had also noticed that Hana was always careful around Tsuna.

 

He wasn't stupid. Takeshi knew what happened to Tsuna, how his mother was the only one to find him and send him off to the hospital. Tsuna was supposed to be dead; that much Takeshi knew. And yet, he was sitting across from him -breathing, smiling, _laughing_ \- like the boy never did such a thing to himself.

 

Takeshi wondered silently to himself, as he laughed at the sarcastic remarks Tsuna and Hana were throwing at each other, could he come back too? If he did such a thing?

 

Staring at the brunette, Takeshi picked up his other notebook, grinning. _'No. If I tried, I wouldn't make it back. I'm not that strong.'_ Flipping it open to a random empty page, the teenager got ready to copy down some notes. _'I'm not as strong as Tsuna.'_ Was it selfish for him to envy the other? To suddenly come back with confidence that wasn't there before? 

 

When Tsuna stared death in the face, did he laugh and mock it when he came back? Was that why he held his head up nowadays? Or was it because he no longer felt the need to be what other's made him out to be? Takeshi wanted to ask, yes he knew they were personal questions, but he was curious.

 

Curiosity killed the cat but satisfaction brought it back.

 

As the hours went by, Takeshi kept glancing over at Tsuna. Watching the other brunette flail his hand when trying to explain something, or how he would try to shimmy away from Sasagawa's touch. He, most certainly, did not miss the look that flashed over Tsuna's mother's face, when said girl tried to grab onto Tsuna's arm or hand.

 

Not that he really had to look at Tsuna's mother, as the boy felt a spike of –what was it? Anger? Annoyance? _Jealousy_?- go through him as well. Whenever Hana would catch him glancing at Tsuna, Takeshi would only give her stare a grin and ask a question that would send her into another frenzy.

 

It was when they were finally getting things together that Takeshi went for it. "Tsuna? Is it alright if I come by and hang out with you?"

 

Tsuna blinked, looking up at him with wide eyes –which was weird to see, as the star had gotten used to the lazy gaze Tsuna would give. "Huh? You... want to hang out with _me_?" He asked, pointing at himself as if he was confused. There was a glint of glee in his eyes, that made the baseball star fidget.

 

It didn't make Takeshi uncomfortable, it just made him more aware of his own movements. "Yeah. I had a lot of fun with the whole  study group thing, so I figured it would be even more fun for use to just hang out, haha." Takeshi replied, shrugging his shoulders. Was it him or did his laugh sound even more nervous than he intended?

 

"Sure!" Tsuna chirped, grinning brightly at him. "I'll be happy to have you come over. We can play some video games next time!" The brunette's eyes were practically glowing and his grin was far wider than before.

 

Getting a reaction from the other, especially so bright, made Takeshi happy. He didn't know why Tsuna was happy to hang out with him later, now that he has two more classmates as friends to do so. Then again, he hardly knows much about Tsuna at all.

 

Throwing on his school bag, Takeshi grinned, goal in mind for the next time he comes around. "Alright, cool! Then I'll see you around, thanks again for having me over and helping me."

 

Hana snorted as she toed on her shoes. "You still need help, with how horrible those notes are."

 

"Hana." Kyoko nudged the girl gently, a pout on her face.

 

.

.

.

 

 They left, leaving Tsuna at his doorway, waving them goodbye. Once they were out of view, he closed the door, turned around, and gulped at the sight of his mother.

 

Nana stared down at him, remaining silent as he stared right back at her. "So, you're not interested in Kyoko..." Tsuna nodded slowly, even though a foreboding feeling came around. "...You're interested in the boy –what was his name again? Yamamoto-Kun?"

 

"W-What?! No! I'm not –why would you _even_ think that?!" Tsuna was sure his face was red. Yeah, sure he was interested in Takeshi but not for _that_ reason!

 

"Oh, there's no reason to lie, Tsu-Kun!" Nana gushed, smiling brightly as she cupped her face. "The two of you would be so cute together!" Tsuna spluttered in the background, as his mother twirled away. "Tsu-Kun would be the greatest house wife too!"

 

 _ **"Kaa-Chan!**_ "


	11. Making Schedules

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How did he feel when he was dying? When She was dying? “I felt...” Tsuna started, looking passed Takeshi. “Angry. Desperate. Hurt. I was… I felt determined to live.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry if it's shorter compared to the rest

   ** _[_ ** **_Dohachiro Nezu;_ ** **_Time: 5:26 AM ; Arrival; Namimori Middle school: (predicted time) 6 AM ]_**  

 

 

Tapping the end of his pencil to his lip, Tsuna continued to stare down the street, leaning against a rogue tree. Orange orbs taking in the car going down the tight roads with intense focus. The driver, oblivious to Tsuna’s presences, continued to drive off.

 

Driving right past him. The brunette made a humming noise in the back of his throat before giving a slow blink to the dust cloud the car left behind. Erasing part of the time, Tsuna wrote down something else.

 

 **_[_ ** **_Dohachiro Nezu;_ ** **_Time: 5:26 AM ; Arrival; Namimori Middle school: (predicted time) 5:45 AM ]_ **

 

“So Nezu drives a Dodge Omni… Those cars are horrible all on it’s own, cutting off the breaks is nothing to it’s already faulty design.” He murmured to himself. What was the list on those cars again? Something about vague steering, was one of the three he heard.

 

One, he remembered for sure, was its atrocious safety record. Tsuna couldn’t exactly what it was in said records, but it was enough for him to know that it was in his favor. Although, the brunette wouldn’t deny that he was confused. Surely if they were so bad, wouldn't that have been recalled? Or better yet, never sold again?

 

Was it an american made or was it overseas? Tsuna groaned, rubbing his temple with mild frustration. This was why he never bothered with cars. They were all made for the same reason and yet they were still somehow made differently. It was annoying to re-learn different things for the same object, if you ask him.

 

Clicking his tongue, the boy pushed himself away from the tree, closing his small notebook in hand. He had been slow, getting information on Nezu, but that was fine. Spending time with Takeshi seems to be working pretty well. And his company was nice to have; like a breath of fresh air.

 

His mother, on the other hand, seemed to like to tease them when they were together. Leaving snacks for them and winking at him for good luck. Tsuna had his fair share of staring too long at Takeshi; it wasn’t that he wanted a relationship, Tsuna just didn’t feel comfortable to date anyone. With being mentally older and stuck as a teenage boy, he’s sure anyone else in his position would have felt the same.

 

Tsuna shook his head, trying to get those straying thoughts away. He had no time to think of that when he wanted to actually start his first plan! Stuffing the small notebook away in his jacket pocket, Tsuna walked away, fully intending to make breakfast and get ready for school. Looking up at the sky, the brunette smiled slightly to the soft clouds floating above him slowly. It looked like it was going to rain soon.

 

The smile slipped off, his mind wondering back to Takeshi and their conversations.

 

.

.

.

 

_“Man, I didn’t know you were into action movies, Tsuna.” Takeshi grinned, leaning back on his hands as they watched the small screen playout the movie. “If I did, I would have brought over some of my own. I’m sure you would like a few.”_

 

_“They’re not all that bad, once you get past some of the horrible CGI and all.” Tsuna replied, laying on his bed, head propped up by his hands. “You can bring whatever you want over; I’m down to watch any type of movies, actually.”_

 

_Takeshi nodded as the character cried out to their friend. “Okay, I’ll be sure to bring some other stuff over next time.”_

 

_The two remained silent, watching the movie with the occasional ‘ooh’ and ‘what’ -or, in Tsuna’s case ‘Oh come on!’. Once the movie was over, Tsuna slithered off the bed, earning a few chuckles from Takeshi. As his back was turned, focused on putting the movie away in it’s rightful case, Takeshi stared at Tsuna’s back._

 

_“Tsuna?” Humming, the boy looked over his shoulder to see what the other wanted. “I wanted to ask you something personal, but I’m not too sure if it’s alright.” Tsuna turned around completely at this, raising a brow at the baseball star._

 

_“If you want to ask me something, then just ask.” Takeshi looked at him in surprise, mouth slightly popped open. “If it’s too personal, I’ll just let you know that I don’t want to answer it. That’s fair, right?” Receiving a slow nod, the brunette made himself comfortable. “So, what was it that you wanted to ask me?”_

 

_He watched as Takeshi seemed to pull into himself, licking his dry lips, looked away from him for a moment before looking back. “How did it feel? When you… you died?” Tsuna blinked. “I mean, you’re obviously alive, but, they had said that you didn’t make it before. So…”_

 

 _How did he feel when he was dying? When_ **_She_ ** _was dying? “I felt...” Tsuna started, looking passed Takeshi. “Angry. Desperate._ **_Hurt_** _. I was… I_ **_felt_ ** _determined to live.” A moment of silence trailed out between them, taking in a deep Tsuna blinked, coming back to the_ **_now_ ** _. “Sorry, that probably didn’t answer your question. Any other question you want to ask?”_

 

_“...No. No that was -that was all I wanted to know.” Takeshi replied, slightly subdued but Tsuna’s answer. “Sorry, for asking something so personal.”_

 

_“It’s fine. I actually haven’t thought of it before now, so it was kind of a real mind opener.”  When the brunette didn’t get a reply, he pulled out a video game, waving it in front of Takeshi’s face. “So, I got this baseball game but I don’t know how to play, mind showing me how?”_

 

.

.

.

 

Tsuna really had no trouble talking about it; it really did get him thinking. Considering that he never thought about it before. He was sure he felt more complex emotions that day, but could he really say that it was all Tsuna and not _Her’s_ ? It was strange, coming to terms that Tsuna was no longer himself but still was. Having habits from and thought processes like _Her_ and nothing like his.

 

Carding his hand through his hair, Tsuna tried not to think of it as two separate beings. He was Mia Robinson, twenty-seven year old woman, now inhabiting the body of one Sawada Tsunayoshi, twelve -almost thirteen year old- boy. They were one in the same, and it’s about time he started thinking that as well.

 

Nodding his head with resolution, the brunette unlocked his front door to head insead. His mother should be getting up right about now, so there’s enough time for him to get started on cooking. Quietly getting inside and locking the door behind him, Tsuna toed off his shoes, eyes glancing over to the stairs. Not hearing anything, he moved towards the kitchen.

 

Nana had been very stubborn with not having him cook, but she can’t do anything if he already gotten started. Humming to himself as the boy pulled out eggs, Tsuna eyed the knives on the counter. He needed his own pair. Asking for small objects now rewards him with questions from his mother; and the boy wasn’t going to stoop to asking for an allowance.

 

Maybe he should get a part-time job and start saving up money?

 

 _‘Hm, I could go work down at the small market store not far from here. Maybe sell some fruit at the fruit stands?’_ Tsuna mused, beating the eggs in a bowl. _‘Kaa-Chan will probably ask me why I’m looking for a job, especially since it’s ‘out-of the blue’.’_ Pursing his lips, the boy continued on his with motions, easily taking care of the food while in thought. _‘I could always say that I’m trying to get experience and want to be slightly independent?’_

 

“Tsu-Kun? You’re already making breakfast?” Turning his head slightly, Tsuna gave a smile to the sleepy figure that was Nana. She yawned, rubbing her eye as she looked over what he was making. “You could have woken me up, I wouldn’t have mind getting up to make you something to eat.”

 

“It’s fine, Kaa-Chan. I know my way around the kitchen. Besides, you looked really tired last night, so I figured you could use some extra sleep.” Tsuna replied with ease, turning over the food in the pan. “Go ahead and take a seat, breakfast will be done soon.”

 

Nana wanted to object and take over, eyes staring at the knife every few seconds before caving in as Tsuna wasn’t moving from his spot. “If you insist, you win this time, Tsu-Kun. But next time, I’m cooking -in fact, leave all the cooking to your Kaa-Chan, okay?”

 

Tsuna frowned. “I’ll only accept if you let me cook when you’re too tired. I don’t want you burning yourself by accident, you know.”

 

“Alright, alright. I’ll be sure to let you cook when that happens.” Hearing another yawn come from his mother, Tsuna pulled out her cup, pouring tea in for her. They never had coffee in their house before, and though Tsuna may crave it now and again, he would settle for tea. It was the next best thing, and he didn’t need to spend money for it.

 

Placing the cup down in front of her, Nana smiled once more at her son before taking a sip. As she closed her eyes, taking another sip of the warm tea. The moment she opened her eyes, the food was placed in front of her as well.

 

The two shared a ‘thank you for the meal’ before digging in. Tsuna glanced up at the clock before he focused on his food once more.

 

**_[ Tsuna; Time: 6 AM ; Arrival; Namimori Middle school: (predicted time) **6:30** AM ]_ **

 

A full hour and a half to find the spot that time-capsule was buried and figure out a way to un-bury it without getting caught by the disciplinary committee.

 

Challenged Accepted.


	12. Triggered

 

' _This was a lot harder than what I had anticipated.'_ Tsuna thought, looking at the amount of members that were standing around the front gate. He cringed when a member spoke down to a group with untidy uniforms. Pulling out his watch from his pocket, Tsuna frowned at the time; **7:24** am. Heaving a sigh, the boy ignored the other students as he weaved through them to get to his shoe locker. For the second time this morning.

He had come by earlier, doing his best to stay away from possible places that Hibari might catch him. It worked far better than he had imagined, and left Tsuna with as much possible time to look for the place the time capsule was at. The brunette knew that trying to dig anything up was a horrible idea, so he had done the only thing he could think of.

Go to the principal's office at **7** am.

Said principal was surprised to even see a student -whom had no club activities- to arrive in his office. Tsuna smiled, as he weaved his story to the man, how he was trying to gather information on the school and it's history. A self-project of sorts. And, if possible, to dig up a part of the soil to 'mark the remembrance of the school of their time'. There was a bit of guilt that dropped onto Tsuna's shoulders as the Principal gladly agreed to his shit story.

The man seemed reasonable and kind, but he was very much easily tricked. With permission -along with the slip- Tsuna continued his search, dirtying his uniform in the process. Of course, the boy had come prepared, bringing the other pair of his uniform to change into. It was when he had changed into the cleaner uniform did he run into Hibari, tonfas out and ready to beat him in the ground.

When Tsuna presented the permission slip, he knew right away that Hibari wasn't taking it all that well. Either he was having a bad morning or Hibari just wanted to beat someone, Tsuna didn't want to stick around and find out. The moment Hibari turned around and walked down the hall, the brunette did the same, going the opposite direction.

So now, here he was, changing his shoes once again mentally going over where he had checked and what areas should be checked. He had already checked near the larger trees, track field, and baseball field. _'All that's left is the 'playground', and a few spots where the plants were growing.'_ Of course, the playground was apart of the track field and baseball field -a middle part of it. Was that where the original Tsuna found it?

He couldn't exactly remember.

' _Should I start writing out what I_ _ **do**_ _remember? No, that would be bad if someone else finds it.'_ Stuffing his hands in his pant pockets, Tsuna took his time going to his classroom, sure that his classmates -Kyoko, Hana, and Takeshi- were already there. From the corner of his eye, he could see Hibari close to beating some unfortunate soul.

Not wanting to be dragged into the mess, Tsuna picked up his pace slightly.

That brought another problem with his possible plans. Hibari was a loose canon and didn't take shit from anyone. If word got out that he was the one, _indeed_ , harming fellow students, then Hibari wouldn't hesitate to send him to the hospital. Of course, there was also the problem with that; the lack of information regarding himself.

People just knew him as Dame-Tsuna before since he was horrible at everything. Nowadays, they call him Creepy-Tsuna, just not to his face. It didn't bother the boy, after all, they weren't very creative. Overall, the information was lacking or out of date; something Hibari would most likely hate to see or deal with.

Finally reaching his classroom, Tsuna paused at the doorway, hand stretched out for the door. What would he do if Hibari _did_ join him? _'Well, there would be nowhere to hide for everyone else. And Hibari does get rid of the bodies. Hm, does he actually kill them, is the question.'_ Saving that thought for another time, the brunette walked into his class, giving a crooked smile to everyone in sight.

The day was uneventful, if Tsuna did say so himself. Sit in class, take notes, eat lunch with friends -aka trying to 'shy' away from Kyoko's advances- and deal with the headache of one Nezu. He would have stuck around to look for the damn capsule, but Hibari was already eyeing him down. Tsuna wanted all of his limbs intact for the rest of his life, thank you very much.

It was with a bit of reluctance that he went with his three classmates; something about video games. As they chatted about, the girls about fashion and sweets, Tsuna nodded his head alongside Takeshi's enthusiasm for baseball. The brunette had openly admitted that he wasn't good at it, but did know a few facts about said game. With them into their conversations that they didn't notice the woman heading their way.

Tsuna was jerked out of his conversation as the woman grabbed his shoulders roughly. He stilled for a moment, doing his best to not react before looking at the woman -whom all but seemed worried. "Um yes? May I help you with something ma'am?"

"I'm looking for my husband." The woman started, pulling away to shower the photo. "We live not far from this town, and when he had said he would be right back, I didn't think nothing of it. He's been missing for almost a month now -and yet, no one has seen him."

Looking down at the photo, Tsuna froze. Takeshi blinked at it before giving the woman a small smile. "I had seen him a month back. He came around for some Sushi but left afterwards. I haven't seen him since."

The woman's shoulders slumped, looking over to the girls for any answers. Kyoko and Hana shared a glance before shaking their heads to the woman. "We're sorry but we've never seen him before."

"I-it's alright. And you, boy? Have you seen my wayward husband?" Tsuna could only offer a shake of his head, too afraid to say anything. "I see. Thank you for your time. I'll be on my way."

The four remained silent as the woman left, Tsuna, moved forward, slightly stumbling. Takeshi took a step forward, frowning as he looked at Tsuna. "Whoa, Tsuna, are you okay? You don't look all that great."

The boy in question only offered a smile -which looked more like a wince- and shook his head. "Sorry guys, but I'm going to go home. I'm...I'm not feeling all that great." Which was true, he felt nausea all of a sudden. He wasn't even sure if he could stand that much longer.

Hana looked at the boy, brows furrowed in confusion. Tsuna was just fine a second ago, but after that whole interaction with that woman, the brunette just clammed up. She narrowed her eyes, something wasn't right here. Seeing her friend about to offer the boy help, Hana placed her hands on the girl's shoulders, effectively making Kyoko quiet. "Why don't you take him home? It looks like he'll fall over any second. We can go to the arcade another day."

Takeshi, too worried over his new found friend, nodded his head to Hana's words. "Yeah, okay. I'll be sure to get him home safely. I'll see you guys tomorrow then." Taking Tsuna's arm, the baseball star did his best to be something for the boy to lean on. "Come on, Tsuna. Let's get you home."

 

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It took a bit longer for them to get there, as Tsuna had stopped a few times to stop feeling dizzy. Tsuna almost had to force Takeshi to leave, as the boy refused to leave his side. His mother, on the other hand, knew when and how to make the other leave.

When asked if he wanted food, Tsuna could only groan and mumble out a no. He couldn't eat. Not with the image the photo the woman had shown him still clear in his mind. It had shaken him when he had seen it; how could he have forgotten about _that_ man? It may have almost been a month but that was no excuse for him to forget his first kill.

Laying down on his bed, Tsuna took a deep breath. He didn't think that man would have someone waiting for him. Did that man have kids? Oh god, he took a husband and a possible father away from his family. _'Breathe. Exhale. Just sleep Tsuna. Just. Sleep.'_ Evening out his breath, the boy let his mind melt away into nothing.

For some reason, Tsuna couldn't help but feel like he wasn't really going to get a good night's rest.


	13. Mirror Mirror

 

Tsuna stared at nothing. Blinked his eyes -rubbed them even- and took a look around. Nothing. It was just a pitch black room. Under his feet, ripples were made from his movement. He frowned, what was going on? Was he dreaming? "That's it. I'm dreaming. What else could this be?"

Murmuring to himself, Tsuna moved forward. It wasn't as if he could go back or fly, as the place was covered in darkness. Nothing changed, so moving forward was his only option. Tsuna didn't know how long he was moving for but the boy didn't like how his dream wasn't changing. "What's the big deal? This is my dream, isn't it? Why isn't it changing to what I want?"

Frustration was clear in his voice, eyes narrowed as he looked around once more. As he opened his mouth to rant once more, murmurs reached his ears. Tsuna closed his mouth with an audible click and strained his ears to hear. Brows furrowed as the words didn't exactly reach him, he moved towards the area that he was sure the voice was coming from.

Tongue lapping out and licking his dry lips, Tsuna wasn't sure if he wanted to see what was making that noise. His dreams were never this odd. Maybe have a dream of having an eating contest with a walking-talking potato, but something creepy like this? No, this never happened before.

As he got closer, the murmurs finally turned to hushed words. _Frantic._ That's what Tsuna thought of them. Whoever was saying whatever it was, it was in a way as if they were in disbelief. As if they were trying to make sense of something that wasn't real -convince themselves that it was wrong. Finally coming across what was making the noise, he froze in place.

_"Wrong. Wrong. This isn't what I wanted. Why did I kill them? This is so wrong -oh my god, I killed someone! In my own home!"_ Tsuna felt his throat tighten, eyes wide as he took in who was rambling. _"This is all fake. I couldn't have been the one who- no, no, no. It's okay, it's okay."_ The person's shoulders relaxed, their hands that had been gripping at their head, finally let go and slowly fell to their knees. _"It wasn't me. It wasn't me. It wasn't… It was **you**."_

Their head snapped towards them quickly, causing the boy to fall back in surprise. Tsuna's breathing grew heavy, shaking his head at the other. "I… W-What? What are you..?" The brunette wanted to smack himself right now. He knew it was going to come around and bite him in the ass. He knew that his first kill -that man whom he burnt to a crisp- would come back to haunt him.

Tsuna didn't take into account for the guilt to come back like _this_ : Tsuna staring right at him with tears in his eyes. " _ **You**_ _._ _You're the one who killed that man!_ " The other Tsuna twisted around, taking a step forward to the fallen brunette.

Stretching out their hand, Tsuna started. "N-No wait! You don't understand-!" And he faltered, that wasn't the voice he had gotten used to hearing. That was a females voice -that was _Mia's_ voice that came out. As the other Tsuna creeped closer, he took a quick look down at his own body. What wasn't suppose to be there was. Brown matted hair dropped from her shoulders, a chest of a woman followed her sight, as did the thin hand she pulled back. "What's going on?"

Feeling the soft breath on her face, Mia froze once more. _"You're facing your guilt."_ Whispered the other Tsuna, his hand taking hold of her chin, giving it a slightly push up to meet his eyes. When she did, Mia wasn't sure what to do, as blazing orange eyes gazed at her. _"You may have my face, my flames. **My life.** But you're nothing like me."_

"I didn't m-mean to - I just, I didn't want to die." Mia stuttered, her own words hearing like an excuse to her. "I had to -I had no choice! He was going to kill me! I-if I didn't do something, he would have hurt mama-" The grip on her chin tighten, causing her words to falter.

_"She's not your mother, she's mine!"_ Tsuna shouted, teeth bared as he was mere inches away from her face. Mia flinched in his grasp, eyes squeezing shut as Tsuna continued. _"You've killed an innocent person. Yes, what he was doing was wrong. Yes, he almost killed you. But did you really have to stoop down to his level?"_

The grip loosened. _"You could have just knocked him out and have the police take care of him."_ A soft sigh followed, before the hand retracted completely. Taking the risk, Mia cracked an eye open. Tsuna sat across from them, his eyes back to brown as he frowned at his hands. The boy muttered once more; _"Not my fault. Not your fault. It's **our** fault."_

"...Our fault?" Mia questioned, pulling her legs towards her chest. She didn't want any limbs in easy reach for the boy to grab -him being a figment of her imagination or not. He snorted, hands flexing into fist before letting go.

_"Yes, our fault. You reacted as how one would, my flames reacted to protect."_ Tsuna paused, tilting his head as he stared at her. _"My flames are attached to us -to me. I'm what's left of the original Tsuna. And I had pushed my flames to help you. But in the end, all I did was make you lose your common sense and mind, causing you to kill that man."_

Mia frowned at the information. That didn't sound possible, but then again, wasn't Giotto a figment of the last bit of his flames? Pursing her lips, she leaned forward slightly. "If that's true, then why are you here? Didn't you want it to all end?"

_"It's like I said, I'm what's left. I'm only a part of Tsuna, not completely. Now that you're here, my whole thought process and morals are...changing to match you."_ Tsuna gave a cheerful smile. _"This whole room? It's suppose to represent your mind state. Seeing as you're still settling in and not yet accept everything, it's remained empty. **Dark**."_

_"And that's what I'm becoming."_ Tsuna's smile turned creepy, his eyes practically glowing in the dark. _"I'm becoming whole again, all because of you. I just wanted to bring you here so we can meet. So that you can finally deal with that guilt of yours. After all, you intend to harm those whom harmed or done me wrong in the past, no? Might as well be numb to it all."_

Crawling towards Mia, Tsuna's grin grew, his eyes never leaving her face. _"It's as they say, you can never hide yourself from within."_ A chuckle left the boy as he all but hovered over Mia. _"Demons aren't something that's out there, but what's in **here**."_ Tsuna tapped the woman's forehead. _"I think, we'll speak again. Have fun out there for me, Mia-San."_

 

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Eyes snapping open, Mia - _'Tsuna, I'm Tsuna'_ \- stared at the ceiling, trying to reel in what happened. It was a dream. A dream. The echo of Tsuna's - _'other Tsuna, not me'_ \- chuckle rang in her mind. Finally pulling himself out of bed, the brunette barely held back a groan. He didn't feel all that great. Sluggishly moving away from his bed and out of his room, the boy made it to the restroom.

Splashing water on his face, Tsuna remained hunched over the sink, eyes seeing yet never taking in. Giving a slow blink, he looked up at the mirror, Tsuna stared for a moment longer. The echo of the laugh rang through his head once more, causing the boy to flinch. "Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who is the monster in a sheep's cloth?" He wasn't right in the head, Tsuna knew that. But the acknowledgement didn't stop him from laughing.

Laughing alongside the one inside his head.

That was how Nana found him; laughing a broken laugh curled up into a ball on the bathroom floor. The mother didn't know what to do, as she scooped her child into her arms, trying to give comfort as Tsuna continued to give out broken laughter.

"It's okay, Tsu-kun. I'm here. Mama's here." Nana whispered, patting down his wild hair. Her eyes stung at how her son's -her precious baby- laughter turned to hiccuped sobs. She hadn't seen him cry like this in a long time. What caused this, she didn't know. But the woman did know that she wasn't going to let him go to school. Not like this.

The school should understand, right? After all, her Tsu-Kun had been doing better at school, so they wouldn't pull the whole 'he'll be left behind' card on them.

"Sshh, it's okay sweetie. I'm here. Let's get you back to bed, alright? Do you think you can stand?" Receiving a nod from her child, Nana helped him up just to be sure. And if they even dared to try -well, Nana can be a scary woman when the time needed it.

As Nana helped the boy leave the room, Tsuna spared the mirror one last glance. His eyes widen as he seen his reflection, laughing. Even as he continued to hiccuped sobs, the brunette's lips curled up into a mad grin. Tsuna hid his face from his mother, not wanting her to see. That was the last thing the boy wanted.

For Nana to see that her child had finally lost whatever was left of his mind.


End file.
